Tale of magical world
by Mavros Einsam Luko
Summary: An story with an OC, who joins the first high with Tatsuya.
1. Enrollment

**[** The day before the Entrance ceremony **]**

Student council president of First High, Mayumi was shocked to hear what she had heard from the council's secretary, Azusa. "Could you repeat what you said just now? Please A-chan."

"I said two new students have got a perfect score in Magic Theory and Magic Engineering entrance exams."

"Well that is completely unheard indeed.", said the accountant of the council, Suzune, who has now recovered from her shock.

"I guess surprises like this can happen sometimes." Mayumi said with a role of her eyes and began to look for something distracting after this jaw breaking news.

"Actually this is nowhere near of what I'm about to tell you.", Azusa said trying her best to keep her laughter at the reactions of 2 women in front of her.

"What could be more bizarre than what you have already told us?" Mayumi asked in disbelief.

"First of them, Shiba Tatsuya, is accepted as a course 2 student."

At this revelation, both Mayumi and Suzune jumped from their seats and asked in unison, "What?"

"He got such a low score on practical exam that I would say he is even lucky to be able to attend First High."

"That's quite a shame, he could've been something else if his practical ability was even average." Suzune said in her usual stoic expression after regaining her composure. At that Mayumi just nodded before asking, "What about the other one?"

"Eh oh… You may not like that President."

Mayumi made a troubled face and asked with pity, "Don't tell me he failed the practical exam?". Suzune just sweat dropped, waiting for Azusa to continue.

"Oh! No! Not at all." Azusa said hurriedly and then continued at a more normal pace, "He actually broke your previous best record on practical exam by 150% of your score." After saying what she had to say, was averting her gaze in fear of her president. Suzune was just looking at Mayumi for her to continue.

She in return just gave a nice smile and continued, "I am relieved that he didn't fail the exams. And why you are terrified of me A-chan? Records are meant to be broken one day. We should be proud to have a talented magician like him at our school. By the way what's his name?", she asked realizing that they don't know their Freshman Representative's name.

"Actually that's quite funny, literally." Suzune looked at Azusa with unusual interest in her eyes. Azusa continued, "Shiba Tetsuya." At the revelation, all three women began laughing. The two students they had been talking about were Tatsuya and Tetsuya, and both were Shibas which in itself was quite comical.

 **[** On the day of the entrance ceremony **]**

"How could they? You scored so high in the exams, so how could they make you a course two student, Onii-sama?", Miyuki was upset and muttered bitterly.

"An emphasis is placed on the practical exams. Since I did so poorly on the exams, I was fortunate to be accepted at all, Miyuki." Tatsuya patted her head hoping to calm her down and now continued in soothing voice, "We both know what I can do and that's fine for me." He gave her a small smile before continuing, "And besides, this year's freshman representative seems to have made history well above mine. He scored more than double of your score in practical exam, who got second best this year, and got perfect scores just like me. I really want to meet him."

"Well that's true. But don't you find him suspicious? To have such a high score, its unreal even for the ten master clans which he doesn't seem to be from." Miyuki asked.

"Well that's another reason I want to meet him so keenly."

A few meters away from the pair of siblings, a boy was walking in the direction of the auditorium where the entrance ceremony was about to take place.

'Crap, I'm going to be late for the ceremony. But I would say it was a good idea to take a look around. It's a nice school except the discrimination that I witnessed a little while ago. Many really don't understand what magic is, huh? I guess I can give a speech about that.' Tetsuya thought to himself as he reached the auditorium and was greeted by the student council president.

"Nice to meet you, Shiba-kun. By the way you're late." Though it like she was scolding, her smile just told that she was teasing him.

"Sorry for that president and it's nice to meet you too. And please refer to me as Tetsuya. We're the same age after all." Tetsuya said as a matter of fact.

"In that case refer to me as Mayumi as… Oh wait…"Finally realizing what he meant, "You mean to say you're 17. How is that even possible?"

"Sorry, I'm not yet ready to talk about that." He said with sadness reflecting in his eyes which hinted Mayumi that it was personal and tragic. And she felt sorry for making him remember that tragic memory.

"Well then, we should get going Shiba-kun, ceremony's about to start." Mayumi says in president mode for once.

"As you say president."He says gesturing for her to lead.

"~Ma-yu-mi~" she says with her body leaned forward, chin upwards, her beautiful red eyes staring into his charming brown eyes with her hands behind her back in a playful manner.

"~Tet-su-ya~" he says with a smile while copying her motion and the tone. With this their faces were inches away and both were staring in each other's eyes with no sign of backing away. After a minute or two, they were broken out of their stance by a voice right next to them.

"Um…" not sure what to say at the sight, but quickly continues realizing people in front of her are now staring at her, "The ceremony is about to begin." The Public Morals Committee head, Mari sighs after completing her sentence to regain her composure.

"Ah! Yes! We should hurry Mayumi." Looks at her, gesturing her to continue.

"Right follow me Tetsu-kun.", said in less commanding but more teasing tone, turned around not looking at the guy, who was in front of her, and headed towards the backstage in rather childish manner. At this the said guy waved his head with a smile and followed her president to the backstage. And Mari was just trying not to laugh at the sight. 'To think he had such an effect on Mayumi. He must be an interesting one.', she thought to herself.

Meanwhile at the top in the audience, Miyuki and Tatsuya ask a red haired girl if the two seats next to her were free.

"Um… yes. You're a course 1 student right? Don't you want to sit in the front?" Erika asks suspiciously.

"Oh! No! I just want to sit with my Onii-sama." Miyuki replies with a blush.

"I see." Noticing the flower missing on his shoulder. "I am Chiba Erika and this is Shibata Miyuki." Erika greeted while introducing her blushing friend who just say, "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Shiba Miyuki."

"And I'm Shiba Tatsuya." 'Chiba huh! I met a member of numbers already.' He thought making sure not to say it out aloud.

"Oh it's a coincidence." Erika said realizing something and looked in the direction of the others, who don't seem to have understood her. So she continued, "Our names Chiba, Shiba and Shibata almost rhyme."

"Ah! Yes!" Miyuki exclaimed and broke into a fit of laughter with Erika and Mizuki while Tatsuya just sighed.

The ceremony has already begun and Mayumi's speech has just ended and the freshman representative's speech is about to begin as he is currently walking towards the podium.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Shiba Tetsuya." At his four students in the back were taken aback slightly at the revelation of the name while the speech continued, "… cause only together we can take magic to its full potential and understand the true meaning of magic."

The whole auditorium erupted into applause by the ideal of course 1 and 2 working together to produce results far greater than ever before. As Tetsuya walked back, he saw Mayumi looking in his direction and smiling.

"They didn't understood anything I said, didn't they?" Tetsuya asks Mayumi with his body in her direction but head tilted towards the audience.

"Well not everything, but one thing that made sense was that the full potential of our school's results will come out only when we all will work together. To be honest, I wished you were like this." Mayumi said, remembering her first meeting with the person, with a genuine smile of appreciation, "Many course 1 students discriminate against course 2 students. So having a representative like you puts me at ease."

"I will take that as a compliment." Tetsuya said in a teasing tone with a wink and Mayumi blushed slightly at that.

"Tetsu-kun I would like to talk to you about student council." Mayumi asks in a more serious tone now.

"Um… could we talk about it some other day? I actually have some place to be at." Tetsuya asks apologetically meaning that he is genuinely sorry about that.

"It's fine Tetsu-kun." She replies in understanding.

"But what about student council's schedule, president?" Hanzo says from behind Mayumi, eyeing Tetsuya in obvious dislike.

'He was present from the start. And he totally not likes me. Maybe jealous. That's got to be it.' Tetsuya thought to himself.

"It's alright Hanzo; we didn't made an appointment with him beforehand. Let's have a nice, long chat someday.", says the last part looking at the said guy with a small smile on her face.

"That will be nice. Once again I apologize Mayumi." After bowing his head he leaves.

 **[** The next morning **]**

Tetsuya was running towards his homeroom, class 1A. Upon entering, he was met by three girls.

"Good morning." He greeted them.

"Good morning." All three girls said in unison.

"I am Shiba Tetsuya. Nice to meet you." He introduced himself.

"I am Mitsui Honoka." "Kitayama Shizuku" "Shiba Miyuki" all three introduced themselves.

"You're a Shiba too. What a coincidence?" he stated the fact that Miyuki was well aware of.

"Indeed." Miyuki attempted to seem surprised. 'Just wait until you meet Onii-sama.' She thought thinking about yesterday.

 **-** Flashback **-**

"This has got to be a conspiracy by the god of coincidences." Erika says with complete disbelief.

"Calm down Erika" Tatsuya said in vain.

"How can I? The difference between your and the freshman representative's names is just 'a' and 'e' and you two made into opposite classes. And both of you got a perfect score in entrance exams. This has got to be a conspiracy."

'Well that is only possible if Oba-sama is behind it.' Tatsuya thought.

"Well if it's a mere comical coincidence or some sort of fate, we will come to know eventually." Miyuki said to dismiss the topic and headed towards home.

 **-** Flashback ended and now at lunch **-**

Tetsuya after taking his lunch was looking for a place to sit and eat lunch when he heard a commotion near a table.

"Yea, don't lower yourself by hanging around a bunch of weeds."

'They've got nerves to shout that term.' Tetsuya thought and looked in direction of the voice. 'Morisaki again.' He was completely irritated.

"Come eat with us Shiba-san."

'Oh they aren't leaving Miyuki alone.' Tetsuya thought while watching a male student gesturing Miyuki to go with Morisaki gang. Hesitantly, Miyuki went with them while cursing the situation. With that Tetsuya made his way towards the table where the commotion has taken place.

"Excuse me, can I have a seat." Tetsuya asks the group.

"Yes sure." Erika said with a welcoming smile to lighten up the atmosphere.

"Thanks." Tetsuya takes the chair and looks at Tatsuya, "Who was she?" he asks Tatsuya assuming he knew Miyuki.

"My sister and you're-" eyeing the man carefully, "you're wearing a mask." Tatsuya asks surprised. Others also look at him bewildered.

"Yes" 'and not only that. I have stickers on my sleeves to cover the fact I'm a course 1 student.' Tetsuya says the last part in his mind.

"Why?" Erika and Leo ask in unison. And then glare at each other.

"That was my line jerk."

"You're the one who stole my line woman."

'Oh my, that's cliché indeed.' Tetsuya thought to himself.

"Stop your lover's quarrel you two. Let him continue." Tatsuya said in mild irritation.

" Thanks. As for the mask, that's a long story." Tetsuya says while making a troubled face as images from before came back. He was surrounded Morisaki and gang, who were not leaving him in the slightest, so he had excused himself the restroom where he got into this get up.

"Seems to be a troubling matter." Mizuki asks with concern.

"You've no idea." He simply replies with a sigh.

"What's your name? I'm Leo by the way. This stupid woman in front is Erika..." "Hey!" Leo just ignores Erika's protest and continues, "Next to her in glasses is Mizuki. And next to me is Tatsuya."

"Nice to meet you." The rest of them greeted Tetsuya.

"I am Tetsuya. Nice to meet you too."

 **-** In the evening at school grounds **-**

As Tetsuya, in the disguise as before during lunch, was leaving with his friends he made this afternoon and Miyuki. They were accosted by Morisaki and gang.

"Shiba-san, would you like to go home with us together?" Morisaki asked not bothering to show his dislike of course 2 students and Tetsuya present there.

'He just doesn't know when to quit huh.' Tetsuya thought to himself. Mizuki seemed to have had enough of him as well, "Why do you think you can split Tatsuya and Miyuki apart. They're brother and sister!"

"M-Mizuki what are you insinuating about them." The course 2 students, Miyuki and Tetsuya all stare at her causing her to blush harder than she already was.

With the commotion growing, Tetsuya decided to reveal himself. But before he could do so, from corner of his eyes he saw two girls approaching and at the sight of one, just smiled remembering the events of yesterday and thought to himself, 'With her it should be fine.' With that he just decided to watch the girl in action with a smirk on his face.

Mayumi shot a bullet at Honoka's hand to stop her from executing her spell. All of them just turned towards the newcomers. Tatsuya went on with his explanation with Mari.

On the other hand, Tetsuya waved his hand towards Mayumi, who looked at him with an expression saying 'What?'. Tetsuya just winked and smiled at her and puts his left hand slowly at the middle of his chest to say, 'Leave it to me.' wordlessly.

Mayumi smiled realizing that the person is Tetsu-kun and nodded slightly before heading to stop Mari.

"Mari let it go." She said with her body leaned towards Mari with her hands at the back. "He said it was just for learning experience."

"If the President says so herself." Mari seemed to have given in.

Mayumi turned around and gathered the attention of everyone. "But this shouldn't happen ever again in the future.", she glared at Morisaki, who seems to look down in shame.

"Mayumi, if it's alright with you I'd like to invite Tatsuya to student council room tomorrow during lunch." Mari asks.

"Sure." With Mayumi's approval, Mari looks at Tatsuya who just nods. At this Mayumi seems to remember something and looks for Honoka.

"Oh Honoka-san, would you kindly pass on the same message to Tetsu-kun." Mayumi says the last part briefly looking at the said boy.

"Tetsu-kun?" Honoka asks not understanding who the person was while Mari just tried to suppress her giggles.

"Oh sorry my bad. I meant Shiba Tetsuya in your class." She said a little embarrassed and then leaves with Mari in some another direction.

"You better not think that I owe you, all right?" Morisaki seems to be talking to Tatsuya. But before Tatsuya could respond, was interrupted by Tetsuya.

"You're right about that because I was the one who told Mayumi to let you pass for today." Tetsuya said while removing his stickers which showed everyone that he was a course 1 student. Everyone was shocked and when the mask was taken off, they all took a step back at the revelation.

"You're…"

"Yes I am this year's freshmen representative, Shiba Tetsuya."

Far away while walking, Mayumi smiles and stops using her multi scope magic. 'That was a cool way to reveal yourself. Not bad Tetsu-kun.' She thought to herself.

"Would you stop with that smile? It's creeping me out." Mari says with a disgusted look. "Mind telling me what the reason is?"

"Just thinking how you didn't recognize Tetsu-kun back there."Mayumi says in a teasing tone.

"Was he there? How?" Quite surprised at herself to make that mistake.

"He was disguised as a course 2 student." Mayumi replies plainly.

"You seemed to crushing on him to recognize him so easily." It was Mari's turn to give Mayumi her own medicine.

"No he gestured to me once." Mayumi was clearly embarrassed at the moment.

"You seem to be in younger men after all." Mari used her answer to drive her further deep into a corner.

"Actually he's 17." Mayumi used it as a chance to come back which seemed to be successful given the colour of Mari's face.

"What?"

"Don't ask", Mayumi says while shrugging to brush it away.

Meanwhile the first years have slowly regained their shock.

"Shiba-san you have been hanging with the weeds while disguised as one?" Morisaki worded each word slowly in disbelief.

"Don't dare call them or anyone else that again. It's forbidden and above all they're my friends. And I won't want to badmouth my friends ever again." Tetsuya said in threatening tone with a scary face which worked very well. "And if you're thinking you're superior to them because of practical ability scores. Then in that case I'm far… no… quite far superior than you." Tetsuya said in total mockery to Morisaki. "So you would do exactly as I say. Bow and apologize to my friends right now."

Morisaki seems to be hesitant at first, but after one look from Tetsuya, he does as ordered.

"I'm sorry." He says and then leaves with his gang.

"T-Tatsuya Senpai, I'm sorry for the behavior of my class. I should have spoken up before during lunch." Honoka said nervously.

"You don't have to apologize. You almost got yourself in trouble for trying to prevent the situation from turning south." Tatsuya replies.

"Ah yes Thanks for that Tetsuya-san." Honoka bows her head.

"There's no need for that. And it's Tetsuya by the way. Now, should we all go to café then?"

Erika just smiles and says, "Of course. For our new friendship and possible romances." She said the last part eyeing at Honoka and Tatsuya.

"Finally admitting you're attracted to Leo." Tatsuya remarks with a smirk.

"No way!" Both Leo and Erika said loudly in unison. At which everyone just laughed.

'New friendship and possible romances' thought Tetsuya and image of Mayumi from before came in. 'Too early for that I suppose.'


	2. Student Council

"Tetsu-kun, Tatsuya-kun, I'm glad you both could make it.", said an energetic Mayumi. On her right the seats were empty while on her left sat Mari, Suzune and Azusa respectively in order from Mayumi.

"President." Tatsuya simply inclined his head.

"Of course, it was an order from her highness after all." Tetsuya said while doing the act of a noble knight by kneeling down on one foot with his right arm at his chest and head bowed slightly to give respect to his queen.

"T-Tetsu-kun…" Mayumi was a little embarrassed by the silly act of her friend which was clearly teasing. At the sight, girls sitting on her left and Tatsuya simply giggled.

"Anyways…" Mayumi waved her hand to dismiss the topic. "I believe introductions are in order."

"Shiba Tatsuya, 1-E. Nice to meet you."

"Shiba Tetsuya, class 1-A. Nice to meet you."

"Actually we knew who you two were." Suzune said as a matter of fact. Tetsuya seemed embarrassed while Tatsuya was as stoic as before.

'I guess he can get embarrassed too.' Mayumi thought observing Tetsu-kun's reaction and an idea popped into her mind.

"So, at the far corner is our student council's secretary, A-chan a.k.a. Nakajou Azusa." Mayumi introduced the first member while secretly giving a look to Tetsuya briefly to get his attention and then at A-chan.

"President… I beg of you, please don't call me A-chan in front of the underclassmen!"

"I'm 17 though." Tetsuya interjected to the surprise of Azusa and Suzune while Tatsuya remembered the scene of yesterday when they were at café.

 **-** Flashback **-**

"What? Y-you're 17? How?" Leo asked surprised just like everyone else in the group.

"Long story." Tetsuya said with an uncomfortable smile while waving his hand to dismiss the topic.

 **-** Flashback ended **-**

"But I must say Mayumi," Tetsuya looks at her with a smile who in return smiles mischievously. "A-chan's a very good nickname. It's ridiculously perfect with her name." Tetsuya says looking impressed at Mayumi.

"I know." Mayumi said with pride.

"Not you too, Tetsuya-kun." Azusa says with a pout and turns towards Tatsuya, "You won't betray your Senpai as well. Will you?"

"I won't, Nakajou Senpai." Tatsuya replies feeling sorry for the poor girl.

"Next to her is our student council's accountant, Ichihara Suzune a.k.a. Rin-chan. Feel free to call her Rin-chan as I'm the only one who calls her that." Mayumi says the last part looking completely innocent and betrayed by others. Suzune just waves her head at her friend's childish behavior.

"That's a wise one." Tetsuya looked genuinely impressed by this one. "It suits her perfectly and is quite the roll of the tongue."

"And lastly to my left is the head of public morals committee, Watanabe Mari." Mayumi points at Mari who looks lost in her thoughts.

'How can they converse by just eye gestures when they have met so recently?' Mari was wondering this question since after she caught Mayumi secretly eyeing Tetsuya. She was brought of her thoughts by a concerned Mayumi.

"Mari, are you alright?" Mayumi asked with concern.

"Oh yes. Sorry for bothering you.", quite embarrassed at being caught absent minded. Now asks Tatsuya in a serious tone, "Shiba Tatsuya, I would like you to join the Public Morals Committee."

"Nice choice Mari, he could read the activation sequence of spells in an instant. He would definitely make your work easier." Mayumi said remembering the event that happened last evening.

"He can?" Suzune asked surprised.

"Yes Ichihara Senpai." Tatsuya replied and looks to Mari, "But why me? I'm a course 2 student."

"There is not a rule that disapproves of it and it will help to improve the situation between course 1 and 2 students I believe.", Mari said.

"He seems to be physically strong and experienced in combat to me." Tetsuya voiced his thoughts.

"What makes you say that Tetsu-kun?"

"Intuition. My intuitions are usually not wrong." Tetsuya said in thoughtful tone.

"So?" Mari eyed Tatsuya, who just nodded reluctantly and was congratulated by everyone else with applause.

'I guess it will help me stay on alert for any potential threats to Miyuki.' Tatsuya thought to himself.

"And so Tetsu-kun as to why I called you, I…" Before Mayumi could say another word, was interrupted by Tetsuya.

"I accept." Tetsuya said with a wink.

"Do you know what she's talking about?" Mari asked in disbelief.

"To join the student council as it's a tradition for freshmen representative. Figured as much." Tetsuya said with a proud smile. Everyone looked at him surprised and he just continued, "I may not look like one, but I'm quite smart."

"Oh right, both of you got perfect scores in entrance exams." Suzune said nervously. The two sitting in front of them were possibly the smartest students of the school.

"Now now, you two should eat the lunch here only. It's quite late now." Mayumi told both the Shibas.

"And besides, Tetsuya-kun, someone here would very much like to eat with you." Mari used this as a rare chance to tease Mayumi as she said the whole thing looking at her. Mayumi's cheeks were red from embarrassment by Mari's comment.

"Sorry Mari-san, it would be too early for me to consider you given the fact we only met today." Tetsuya replied to save Mayumi from Mari's teasing. Everyone else just giggled at his assumed obliviousness.

"I guess I need to tell Naotsugu-san that you're having second thoughts." Mayumi used it to backfire at Mari.

"You've got the wrong idea. I didn't mean it that way." Mari said in a panicked tone, "And for your information Tetsu-kun, I already have a boyfriend."

Tetsuya just laughed with Mayumi at her reaction. 'He didn't save Mayumi on purpose or something. It's hard to tell with his actions.' Mari thought to herself completely annoyed.

After the lunch, Tetsuya and Tatsuya were heading towards their respective classes.

"Do you know president for a long time?" Tatsuya asked Tetsuya, wondering if he has connections with the Saegusa clan, which was the strongest clan among the ten master clans after Yotsubas.

"No, I met her for the first time during the entrance ceremony." Tetsuya replied casually.

'Then how were they able to communicate so easily by just eye contact back then.' Tatsuya thought in mild surprise as his previous assumption didn't turned out to be true.

In the evening Tetsuya walked towards the Student Council room with Tatsuya, who was supposed to meet Mari there. As they entered the room, they were greeted by ever lively Mayumi.

"Tetsu-kun, come with me. I'll tell you what to do." Mayumi said dragging Tetsuya by his arm. And Mari and Tatsuya were interrupted from heading towards PMC's room by the displeased vice president of SC, Hattori Hanzo.

"Watanabe-san, please wait a moment. I am opposed to that first year being appointed to the PMC. No weed has ever been appointed before."

"You have some nerve, uttering that term in front of me." Mari said in a heavy tone. Everyone turned their attention towards them.

"The committee's job is to crack down on students in violation of the rules using practical skills. A we-course 2 student can't hack it; their skills are inferior." Hanzo said the last part in mocking tone.

"It…" Mari was beaten by Tetsuya for a chance to speak.

"Don't say like you know everything about my friend, vice president." Tetsuya was now face to face with Hanzo.

"Friend? I can't believe that you're associating with a man as lowly as him."

"Hanzo!" Mayumi glared at him, "You're crossing a line now."

"Mayumi! Let's have Tatsuya take Tetsuya-kun or Hanzo in a stimulated battle. In this way we can see his combat skills for ourselves.

Mayumi looked Tetsuya with worried eyes. "I guess I would pass on that." Tetsuya said looking at Hanzo.

"What? For the scary aura from before, you're chickening out from a battle. Fine I'll take him on." Hanzo said with confidence.

Tetsuya just smirked at Tatsuya. 'I guess he's making it easier for me since I seriously doubt if I'll be able to defeat him without decomposition.' Tatsuya thought to himself.

 **-** A few minutes later **-**

"Sorry to keep you waiting.", Tatsuya said as he entered the practice room 3 with a black case for his specialized CADs.

"Do you always carry multiple storage devices?" Mari said as she referred to the magazines of activation sequences.

"Yes, since I don't have sufficient processing skills to master a general CAD." Tatsuya replied to which Hanzo smirked in Tetsuya's direction, who stood silently with arms crossed beside Mayumi.

"Spells, which prove fatal as well as those that cause your opponent irreparable damage, are forbidden. Direct attack should not cause more than sprain. Weapons are prohibited. Bare handed attacks are permitted. If one surrenders or is unable to continue, other will be declared winner. That's it." Mari laid down the rules of the duel.

"Begin!" Mari gave the call to begin the battle. Hanzo chose a spell and activated it. Tatsuya just smiled. Hanzo fell to the ground, revealing Tatsuya with his CAD raised behind him. Tatsuya lowered his CAD and looked at Mari.

"The winner is Shiba Tatsuya." Mari said recovering from her shock. Tatsuya made a small bow in acknowledgement.

"Did you teleported Tatsuya-kun?" Azusa asked shocked.

"Obviously not. It was just physical speed. There is no trace of magic in his initial position." Tetsuya interjected.

"Yes, it was an application of ninjutsu training. I am a student of Kokonoe Yakumo." Everyone was surprised at his statement except Tetsuya, who didn't knew that Yakumo was considered an authority on ancient magic world over and is one of the strongest combat magician who has never taken part in any activity since world war 3.

'I guess I should ask about it later.' Tetsuya thought to himself.

"But how did Hanzo end up like this? Was that also a ninjutsu technique? It only looked like psion waves to me." Suzune brought up the second matter.

"No, I just released psion waves. Hanzo was wasted."

"Ah compound waves via loop casting. The interaction to unexpected psion waves caused a response akin to violent sea sickness. Still you used loop casting by defining multiple variables. Your calculation speed is indeed high." Suzune asked bewildered at Tatsuya's abilities. Meanwhile Hanzo gained conscious and got up.

"I guess all course 2 students have their own talents." Hanzo said ashamed at himself to judge others without knowing them, "I'm sorry for my behavior before Tatsuya-kun." Tatsuya nodded.

"He has acknowledged his own faults. That's a good step for improvement." Tetsuya said in a low tone so others can't hear, but was heard by Mayumi standing next to him.

"Nice catch Tetsu-kun.", said to him with a wink. They were staring into each other with a soft smile and were brought out of it very quickly by Azusa.

"Tatsuya-kun, is that silver horn?" Azusa asked pointing to the CAD in his hand.

"Yes."Tatsuya plainly replied while packing his black case.

'At least I know Taurus Silver of FLT because of magic theory.' Tetsuya thought to himself before asking aloud, "Tatsuya, who is Kokonoe Yakumo? Can you explain?" Everyone looked at him surprised.

"You don't know who he is?" Mayumi asked in disbelief.

"I don't know much about the real world since I hardly watch or read any news. I hardly care about such things, but it just piqued my curiosity since you all looked surprised by that name."

"He was considered an authority on ancient magic world over and is one of the strongest combat magician, but he has been cut off from the world since world war 3. Do you know about world war 3?" Mari explained and asked.

"Obviously, it is in history course of middle school."

"Ten master clans?" Mayumi asked with a surprising amount of interest in her eyes.

"Never heard of them."

"Well Mayumi is part of one, the Saegusa clan. You should check about them. It is important to know about them." Mari said with a bright smile towards Mayumi, who was having a hard time to control her grin.

"Saegusa as in her full name is Saegusa Mayumi."

"You didn't knew her full name?" Tatsuya asked completely shocked as earlier today he thought he already knew Mayumi for a long time.

"She never told me before." Tetsuya simply replied.

"Ah yes, I just told you to refer to me as 'Mayumi' when you called me president." Mayumi was now smiling like a fool as realized that Tetsu-kun acknowledges her as Mayumi genuinely and not because of her family status.

Mari puts her hand on Mayumi's shoulder and whispers in her ear, "Take good care of him. He may be smart and playful, but he's a lot more innocent like a child."

"Mari!" Mayumi said softly with red cheeks.

"Okay Tatsuya let's head towards headquarters." Mari ignores Mayumi and orders Tatsuya.

"Yes Mari Senpai." Tatsuya and Mari left for the headquarters.

"I also think we should also head back." Mayumi asks the members of SC, who just nods and follows their president to their room.

 **[** At the cafe **]**

"I still can't believe you don't know about ten master clans and all." Erika asks looking at Tetsuya.

"If you don't read news and all, then what do you usually do?" Leo asked curious to know about his friend.

"I'm usually busy working since I live alone and in my free time, I like to read stories." Tetsuya replied without giving much detail about himself.

"You know you could be in military if you wanted with your practical scores." Honoka commented.

"I'm not in the least interested in joining the military." Tetsuya said with clear dislike of military.

"Then what do you want to do?" Miyuki asks on behalf of everyone, who were curious to know more about him.

"I would like to start a school of magic and teach not only how to control magic, but also how to use it." Tetsuya said with excitement in his eyes.

"Well that's an uncommon goal." Tatsuya made a point. He was now a little suspicious of Tetsuya.

"Oh the drinks are here." Erika said as she watched the waitress come to their table. As the respective drinks were placed in front of the respective customer, Erika took her glass of oolong tea and raised it in front of everyone.

"Let's cheers to congratulate Tatsuya and Tetsuya for joining the PMC and SC once again."

Everyone followed Erika's proposal. They raised their respective glasses and hit them against one another and said 'Cheers' in unison.

"Tatsuya-san, I'm really happy for your accomplishment." Honoka complimented Tatsuya with red cheeks. Miyuki was annoyed by the fact that some girl was trying to get close to her Onii-sama.

"Thanks Honoka." Tatsuya despite himself gave a small genuine smile for which Honoka was glad that it was directed towards her.

Miyuki was shocked. She knew her brother and could tell that the smile was genuine. 'It's not possible for Onii-sama because of mother's mental interference magic.'

While Erika and Tetsuya thought to themselves looking at Honoka and Tatsuya, 'So her love is able to reach him.'

"I'll be rooting for you." Tetsuya whispered softly to Honoka, who just blushed. His whisper was heard by Shizuku as well, who smiled at Tetsuya happy to know someone other than her was rooting for her best friend.

 **[** At night **]**

Tatsuya and Miyuki went to Yakumo sensei as there was something he wanted to ask his master. As usual, he was met by a surprise attack by sensei while Miyuki just watched the duel between the master and his favorite student. The duel ended with Tatsuya down on the floor. After he regained conscious, he sat with Yakumo and Miyuki on the benches.

"So I believe you have something you wanted to ask me?" Yakumo asked looking at Tatsuya. He didn't mind telling him much.

"Do you know anything about a boy named Shiba Tetsuya? He's a friend. I'm a bit curious about him." Miyuki didn't looked surprised at this. She knew her brother had a suspicion on him.

"Shiba Tetsuya? I heard about him from an old friend, who taught him how to control magic." Yakumo said remembering the day from six years ago.

"You had a friend?"

"I met him during world war 3. Anyways…"Yakumo dismissed the topic of his friend and the war, "Your friend Tetsuya is the son of two citizens who are dead and since 'he' was his teacher, I can imagine if he doesn't know about the ten master clans and all."

"How did you knew?" Miyuki asked in surprise while Tatsuya was silently listening to his master like a good student.

"From what I heard from my friend, your friend is like mine. So you could rest assure Tatsuya."

"Thank you sensei." Both Miyuki and Tatsuya bowed.

'I guess I can trust him now. Well since now I know that he told the truth earlier, it's really funny that someone doesn't know about the ten master clans. Also, he seems to be genuinely attracted to the president. I can't help but root for her.' Tatsuya thought to himself.


	3. Recruitment Week

After a long day in the class, Tetsuya opens the door of the student council's room to fulfill his duty as its newest secretary.

"Good evening Mayumi, vice prez, Rin-san and A-chan." Tetsuya greeted everyone with a smile.

"Evening Tetsu-kun." Mayumi greeted with a bright smile lighting up her face.

"Good evening _Tetsu-kun_." Suzune and Azusa greeted him back emphasizing on his nickname in a teasing manner. He just smiled and looked at them, "I actually like it."

Azusa and even Suzune gave a disappointed look which was rather funny. Mayumi and Tetsuya were trying their best to suppress their giggles. "Now now Tetsu-kun you can settle down." Mayumi gestured Tetsuya to sit down. As soon as he and other members settled down, they were broken out of their short comfort by their president.

"So as the recruitment week is upon us. Rin-chan I would like you to go through the budget and you can take the help from A-chan. Hanzo-kun and Tetsu-kun, you two have to accompany me to PMC's headquarters." Mayumi said in authoritative tone. Rest of them nodded their heads, and Suzune and Azusa began what they told to. Hanzo and Tetsuya got up and started to follow their president.

"Um why are we heading there Mayumi?" Tetsuya asked the said girl, who was leading their way.

"The recruitment week is a very hectic time," "Understatement." Mayumi didn't minded Hanzo's comment and continued her explanation, "So members of student council give a hand in patrolling the grounds."

"Patrolling, it does sound interesting." Tetsuya voiced his thoughts.

"You'll find out." Mayumi said thinking how she'll get Tetsu-kun to patrol with her.

"Is that sarcasm?" Tetsuya asked worried remembering Hanzo's comment about the week.

"You'll find out." Mayumi said with a teasing smile which was not visible to the Tetsuya as he was facing her back, but could tell she was teasing by her tone. He sighed and waved his head with a smile at her antics.

'I guess I'll just have to wait and see for myself.' Tetsuya thought looking in the direction they were heading.

Meanwhile in the PMC's headquarters, Tatsuya was surprised but nonetheless a bit happy to see his friend Shizuku in PMC's headquarters.

"Kitayama Shizuku, I have chosen you to be the second freshmen member of the PMC. Will you accept?" Mari asked the person she has chosen disregarding the school board's recommendation, Morisaki Shun seeing his behavior last week.

"I graciously accept your invitation, chairwoman." Shizuku says in her neutral expression. She didn't really have an interest in joining but decided to do so as she doesn't have anything else to do.

"Very well then, take your seat." Mari was pleased with the outcome and waited for her to settle down. "Since now as everyone is present here and settled down, I would like talk about the upcoming event i.e. the recruitment week. It is a highly chaotic event so there are always those who cause a disturbance every year. I want you all to be extra attentive when you go out on patrols."

Two minutes passed by in complete silence. Shizuku was creeped out by this silence so decided to break it, "Um… chairwoman why are you so quite?"

"Well I'm just waiting. They should have arrived by now." Mari replies eyeing the door eagerly.

"Who?" Shizuku asks not following a single word Mari said.

"The Stu…" Mari was distracted by the sound of the door opening and revealing three members of the student council. "Ah Mayumi now you show up. I started to wonder if you had ditched your duties and went on a date." Mari was clearly teasing as she said the last part looking at Tetsuya. Mayumi's and Tetsuya's face was red as they got what Mari was implying.

"No-not at all Mari. You know I won't ditch my duties to go on a date." Mari just smirked at Mayumi's defense, whose face became redder. Tatsuya and Shizuku really had to try hard to suppress their chuckle at the moment. PMC's boys and Hanzo were awestruck at Mayumi's reaction.

"I know." Mari says teasingly before she notices that two members of SC were missing. "But where are Suzune and Azusa?"

"That is the exact reason why we're a bit late. They are in the room completing the pending work of student council." Mayumi had come back to normal after the affects of teasing that were very much directed towards her.

"So we're going to have fewer hands this year." Two more hands in patrolling during this week were most welcome.

"But they might join us from tomorrow afternoon." Mayumi said in an attempt to reassure Mari.

"No problem, so we should go through what we'll be doing tomorrow." Mari said and turned around, "Alright everyone stand up and make a circle around the table and leave some gap for our guests."

Shizuku, Tatsuya and the rest of the PMC's members followed their chairwoman's order. Mayumi, Tetsuya and Hanzo joined them as well.

'Now we have settled. I have to make sure Tetsu-kun ends up with me to patrol the grounds tomorrow.' Mayumi thought to herself devising a way to convince others to let Tetsuya accompany her in patrols.

"Koutarou and Midori, do you want to patrol together as always?" Mari asks her subordinates.

"Yes" They both said in unison. They both were aware that their chairwoman was kind hearted to diligent people, an observation the first year trio made as well.

"Fine I have no problem with you two. Rest of you boys, Hanzo and Shizuku you all need to patrol alone as I myself will be doing so." Mari said without leaving any space for question before turning her attention to the two students left.

"And as for you Mayumi…" Before Mayumi could say anything, Mari brought her face closer to her ear and whispered with a sly grin, "I know you want to patrol with Tetsuya-kun tomorrow." Mayumi, embarrassed, gave a shock betrayal look to Mari who just ignored and continued, "You can take your _Tetsu-kun_ with you for patrols." She said teasingly.

Mayumi was a bit embarrassed but nonetheless happy as Tetsuya with the arrangement. Shizuku and Tatsuya looked at their expressions and were genuinely happy for the two. As Tatsuya's suspicions about Tetsuya were cleared away by his sensei, he has been rooting for the two of them to get together.

 **-** After school **-**

After school Tetsuya, Tatsuya and Shizuku joined their friends and went to a café. All of them have congratulated Shizuku for becoming a PMC member.

"So how was your first day? I've heard recruitment week is not a very nice time for patrolling." Mizuki said what she has heard from others.

"Really?" Tetsuya asked bewildered. He was completely oblivious about it. He knew that it was hectic courtesy of Mayumi. But he didn't exactly have much details of the event.

"Oh _Really_! From what I could tell, you are going to have a wonderful time patrolling _Tetsu-kun_." Shizuku said with a smirk "And as for how was my first day Mizuki, I had a wonderful time due to certain two students. Chairwoman was rather merciless to those two."

"It must be payback for that time at lunch in the student council. I honestly didn't had any counter today." Tetsuya sighed.

"Well well Tetsuya, I usually don't agree with that woman, but I guess this time she hit a bull's eye." Erika said with a sly smile.

"It really seems so." Miyuki gave a teasing smile remembering what she heard from her Onii-sama about his lunch with student council the other day.

"Erika, I guess it will be safe to assume saying that you and Leo getting together is no less than hitting a bull's eye." Tetsuya used Erika's metaphor against her.

"Tetsuya!" Erika and Leo shouted in unison showing their irritation which was from getting embarrassed by Tetsuya's remark rather than the remark itself.

"Jerk" "Woman" They said simultaneously annoyed at each other for being in complete sync. Rest of them, even Tatsuya, didn't tried to suppress their giggles escaping from their mouths.

"You know, as I've said before, dragged out romances are only good in fiction." Tatsuya advised after regaining himself.

"You really think so?" Honoka asked Tatsuya slightly tilting her head cutely. Even though Honoka was Miyuki's friend, she was still a little annoyed at her friend. After all she was possessive of her Onii-sama.

"I do. I can't believe that someone can be so oblivious of his own and other's feelings in real life."

"I don't want to hear this especially from you Tatsuya." Leo commented empathizing with Honoka.

"What?" Tatsuya asked still being as oblivious as before but Leo just shrugged his shoulders. So he looked at his sister for help who just averted her graze from her dear Onii-sama.

"Honoka sure has it tough." Tetsuya whispered to Erika with pity for the poor girl.

"Indeed." Erika can't help but agree with him. Honoka was completely head over heels for Tatsuya. "But I must say, you are quite good with counter attacks." She was annoyed but nonetheless amused by his quirky way of countering a teasing.

"I will take that as a compliment." He said with a charming smile. Erika just shook her head in amusement.

 **[** The next day **]**

The time of the recruitment week has finally arrived. The members of PMC and Hanzo have started patrolling the grounds for any unwanted behavior. Mayumi and Tetsuya were currently in the corridor of the ground floor.

"So are you ready to see if patrolling is interesting or not Tetsu-kun." Mayumi said with a teasing smile and a wink.

"Well well, since I'm being paired with you, I have no doubt this will be fun." Tetsuya said wiggling his eyebrows with a small smile never leaving his face.

"I'm glad to hear that." She said appreciating his remark without averting her eyes from his.

'It seems whenever I'm with him alone, his teasing don't have the usual effect on me rather they make me dare challenge him for dominance. I like it a lot this way. Now come to think about it, it's been a few days since he learned about my family background and yet he still acts the same with me as before.' She thought to herself amused.

"Umm Tetsu-kun sorry to ask you all of a sudden, but I've been curious to know this since that day. But it seems I haven't been able to have some alone time with you."

"No issues. So what is it you've been curious to know?" He said seeming nonchalant but truth be told he wanted to banter or flirt, as some students watching them might say, with her.

"You know…" she was rather scared to know if his answer might change their special dynamic, they've had so far, forever. "You… have you checked about… the master clans that is?" She knew she was stuttering but she has to accept whatever answer he has for.

"Yes I did. Though, I just went with a brief description about them except Saegusas and Yotsubas, whom I got into little detail. Saegusas because I was genuinely interested in knowing about you. And Yotsubas because of your father's and that scion of theirs. What was her name again?"

"Maya" she was amused by him for speaking nonchalantly about the woman referred as the 'Queen of night'.

"Ah yes Maya. Her and your father's story. I'm sorry for your father had to go through that." He said apologetically.

"No need for it Tetsu-kun, you weren't even born when that happened." She said waving her hands to dismiss the talk about her father and his former lover turned mortal enemy, Yotsuba Maya.

'Alright this answers my first question. Now then most importantly, I wonder how he thinks of me after all of this.' She thought. "So Tetsu-kun, since now you know about my family, what do you think of me?" She asked shyly.

He found her action cute and said smiling, "I think of you as Mayumi, the student council president of First High and the very first friend I made here whose company I always find interesting." He gave a wink in the end to her.

"That makes the two of us." Referring to the last part, she gave him the look of genuine appreciation for the amazing way he gave the answer to her question kicking away all her worries about their special dynamic.

'If Mari or someone else would have said the same thing, I would have blushed furiously. He truly has a completely different effect on me and I can't deny that I don't like it this way. He is ever so lively.' She thought and then suddenly remembered the sad look that was reflected in his eyes for a moment when she first asked him about the story behind enrolling as a first year at the age of 17. She was curious about him and wanted to know what caused his eyes to bear the sad look, even though it was momentary.

"Tetsu-kun, I know it may sound rude to ask but could you tell me the reason behind enrolling as a first year at the age of 17." She asks carefully eyeing his reaction. "You don't have to tell if you don't want to yet. I could wait. You can tell me whenever you're ready."

'I know she wouldn't spread the word out but I guess it is still too early to tell her about that. I am sure it would blow up her mind. I can give her the basics which will be enough for now.' He thought to himself.

"Um… when I was eight, my parents – Shiba Takumi and Shiba Misaki – passed away in a car accident." Even though it was something he could tell, it was still hard for him to speak about his parent's death.

"Oh I am sorry to hear that." She gently brought her right hand to caress his cheek. She can't even imagine how much it hurt to lose one's parents and that too at such a young age.

"Anyways it was long time ago." He gave a small smile to assure her that he fine now. "And because of that, I was unable to come out of my house for a year and because of the timings of the gap, needed to repeat the year I was already in after 9 months. Hence losing two years of schooling."

"Because of psychological shock from your parents' death?"

"More or less." He said averting his eyes from hers. 'I can't really tell you that I nearly sold my soul to hell because of that if not for the Professor.'

"How did you came out of it?" She knew he was hiding something important but didn't pressed further. Still, she was rather curious to know about the person who helped him come out of that nightmare.

"Courtesy of a certain Englishman, who introduced me to the world of magic to bring me back from darkness and later on became my teacher." He told her briefly. 'I am sorry Mayumi, but I can't really tell you exactly how we came to meet. I will leave that for some other time.'

"If I ever meet him, remember to remind me to thank him." She has regained her cheerful attitude. And in all honesty, he was glad she did.

"Would do so. Though it seems less likely. I have no idea where he is or when he'll come back to Japan. Haven't seen him in years." He said nonchalantly.

"Is that so? I wonder what type of man he was." Though she said it to herself, it was clearly meant to be heard by him.

"You would be surprised. He is a great wizard unlike any in the world." He spoke proudly of his professor.

"Wizard?" she asks curiosity taking better of her as it was not common to refer someone with that term.

"He prefers this term over magician. Even I do so. It seems much cooler and classical than magician." He stated as it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Alright, but how can he be unlike any in the world?" She was very much interested to know more about his teacher.

"As far as I've learnt preparing for the entrance exam, you could say that he can do extraordinary magic that you've never seen before." He states making Mayumi feel bewildered at the revelation.

"Being his student, does that mean you could do what he could do?"

"You'll know eventually. After all I have no intention of leaving your side." He says with a charming smile.

"Obviously." She gave him a charming smile of her own. Their faces were close to each other and they stared into each other's eyes. They had obviously learnt a lot about each other today. They were broken out of their stance by a sudden scream that came from outside the window of corridor they were patrolling in.

"Ah it seems with you I have forgotten that we were patrolling for a little while." She says looking outside which was a mess of a crowd.

"That makes the two of us." He was looking out of the window and all his doubt about the rumors regarding the recruitment week were blown away by the sight in from front of him. "Mayumi, I believe we should head outside."

"Took the words right of my mouth, Tetsu-kun." She started walking in the direction of the door. "Follow me Tetsu-kun." He did what he was asked by his president and walked beside her.

 **-** A few minutes ago in the grounds **-**

Tatsuya was patrolling around school grounds; he saw tents all around him, giving a festival vibe. As it was recruitment week, all of the various clubs were trying to attract new members to their ranks.

Just as he was beginning to hope his patrol would be without any incident, he noticed a familiar girl being fought over by the two clubs. 'These guys are relentless.' He exhaled a sigh.

"She wants to join our club you greedy bitch!"

"Us greedy? Please. She was trying to join our club you assholes!"

As Honoka was jolted back and forth between the girls fighting over her, one grabbed her uniform and pulled off part of her coat in the struggle.

"I don't want to join any of your clubs." She yelled and when the other girl accidently groped her, she screamed loudly.

Tatsuya leaped into action casting an oscillation-type magic to knock everyone off balance. He grabbed Honoka and assisted her in retreating between two school buildings.

Looking at her he thought, 'They did a number on you.' Honoka's jacket had been pulled off one of her arms. He noticed she was showing quite a bit of cleavage due to being pulled back and forth before.

"Turn around." She shouted as her face blushed bright red. He quickly did as commanded. He tried to think anything other than the body he had just seen. He succeeded somewhat. At least he wasn't blushing.

"Tatsuya-san did you see me?" She asked shyly.

'Lying would be the smartest thing to do, yes… wait; no she knows that I saw her cleavage.' He wasn't sure how he should respond. Turning around he was surprised to see tears in her eyes. He wasn't able to say anything which was as good as confession.

"No! She pushed him and looked in the opposite direction. 'He saw my cleavage. He will never come to like me now and think of me as an unsightly woman.'

'I guess she is upset that someone like me saw her cleavage.' He thought a little sadly, without realizing. Otherwise he would have been surprised at himself to show an emotion. "I apologize Honoka; I didn't had any improper intentions."

She turned around to look at him. She has apparently gathered back her senses. "No need for you to apologize Tatsuya-san. You saved me back there. Thanks for that by the way. Just forget about all this."

"Right." He didn't have any problems with that arrangement. After all, it seemed a wise thing to do. An idea popped into his modified head so that he could make up for the inconvenience he has caused his friend.

"Would you like to accompany while I patrol the grounds?"

"Yes, I would gladly and I've no doubt that you'll protect me just like before." She said smiling widely at the thought of spending time with her Tatsuya-san but secretly hoped it that it won't turn awkward like before. He again without realizing showed a form of emotion as he gave a small genuine smile to see her happy.

Meanwhile, a little far away from them, two first year girls had been watching their interaction. They have apparently been together for a little while now.

"Honoka seems to have caught the jackpot. What do you say Shizuku?" The redhead said with a sly grin on her face.

With a beautiful smile Shizuku spoke, "I'm glad that Tatsuya helped her Erika." She was genuinely happy for her best friend.

"And they seem to be walking together towards the gymnasium." Erika said raising her eyebrows.

"I can easily tell that she is exploding from happiness." Shizuku saw them getting out of the sight.

"It is so obvious that she is into him, but he is most oblivious of the lot despite being one of the smartest students in the school." Erika spoke irritated.

"I suppose this applies on you and Leo as well, Erika." Shizuku teased the said girl.

"Shizuku!" Erika yelled. "Why do you have to bring up that jerk?" She was beyond irritated now. Shizuku gave her a knowing smile and then she noticed two familiar figures walking in the direction of the very same gymnasium Tatsuya and Honoka were headed.

"Oh that's the student council president and Tetsuya." Erika said noticing the two people not so far from them. "Oh hello Tetsuya and president." She greeted waving her hand to them but was met with no reaction at all.

"Fufufu… it appears the two of them are lost in their own little world." Shizuku said with a hand covering her mouth suppressing her giggles. But Erika didn't bothered to do so and chuckled softly.

The two said figurines, Tetsuya and Mayumi reached the gymnasium where Kendo club, Kenjutsu club and others were supposed to give demonstration. Tetsuya opened the door.

"Holy-molly!" He exclaimed wide eyed as he looked in front of him.

"What is it Tetsu-kun?" She asks before straightening up from the sight in front of her. Kirihara and few other Kenjutsu club members were unconscious on the ground and the one standing above them was none other than course 2 member of PMC, Tatsuya. Honoka and a Kendo club member, Mibu Sayaka, were standing not from the bodies.

"It appears we'll have to part here Mayumi." Tetsuya said in a serious tone.

"You're right Tetsu-kun. I will be needed as the president at the hearing. But I had a good time with you today." She gave him a wink.

"As did I." He gave her a warm smile and then watched her leave the gymnasium.


	4. Revelations

"So you didn't see how the altercation started, Tatsuya-kun?"

"I observed a verbal dispute between Mibu-Senpai and Kirihara-Senpai, president. I didn't intend to get involved if they could settle their dispute with a kendo match. But once Kirihara-Senpai activated a spell I immediately intervened." Tatsuya gave his statement.

"And you reported that Kirihara was the only one to cast magic, correct?" Mari asked interestedly.

"Yes Kirihara-Senpai was the only student to activate magic." Mayumi found the choice of his words curious as she herself saw the mess at gymnasium with Tetsuya. "Given that he acknowledged his errors after his injuries looked at, I judged that no further action needed to be taken."

Mari nodded and looked in the direction of the head of club management department and a member of ten master clans, Juumonji Katsuto. "We have no intention of sending this to the club management department."

"The leniency is appreciated. Though I'll make sure Kirihara understands how close he came to expulsion if he hasn't already realized it." With that, the large man left the room.

"Alright Tatsuya, you're dismissed. Thank you for your hard work." With a nod Tatsuya left the room.

"Am I the only one who felt Tatsuya-kun was holding something back?" Mayumi asked her friend. "I saw with my own eyes that few more Kenjutsu students were knocked out."

"I don't know, but based on rumors he appears to have canceled out Kirihara's 'Sonic Blade' with an unidentified counter magic and others you talked about were brought to their knees by some sort of Psion waves that he used to disrupt the magic."

"Antinite?" Mayumi asked baffled. It was something people don't usually carry around at school.

"Doesn't seem so. He only had 2 CADs he borrowed from the PMC."

"Two?" She would need to think about it later.

"I initially thought he was bluffing when he requested the two. He's an interesting addition this year." Mari paused for a moment. "From interesting I remember that you were together with Tetsuya all day. How was it?"

"It was quite amazing. We learned a lot about each other today." She said with all honesty.

"Good for you." Mari said before leaving her friend to recall her time with Tetsuya.

 **-** Flashback **-**

"After school, I have time till 6 p.m. to hang out with Mari, Rin-chan and others." Mayumi says with a smile. "At home, I study but always make out time for speed shooting. Whenever I'm stressed or upset, taking a round of speed shooting always help me relax."

"So you like shooting a lot." Tetsuya said making a note of her interests.

"Correct, it helps me vent out my emotions. Though it's not the only sport I like."

"Hmm… Is that so?"

"Yes, the other one that I like is also a magical game, Crowd Ball. Though, I wish to play against someone who could give me a good challenge. Till now, I have won my every single game without breaking a sweat." She sighed. Even though winning was important to her for maintaining her family reputation, she had always wanted to have a close game where she could give her all and try her best not to lose.

"I get what you're saying. You want to feel the adrenaline rush when you play against someone strong. You give your best to the game and even if you lose, you can't help but feel satisfied despite being frustrated on the same time."

"You seem to be saying from experience." She said noticing that his tone had the feeling as if he has experienced it all before.

"Yes, I was in the basketball team of my middle school."

"That's surprising. I didn't took you as a physical type." She was surprised. The boy in front of her was not as tall as one would expect of a basketball player. Moreover, he was hardly five-eight.

"You were not wrong Mayumi. As you can see, I have an average built. But my skills in accuracy, dribbling and strategy forming gave me a spot as point guard in the team.

"Oh, I keep on forgetting you're smart as well." She said teasingly, tilting her head cutely.

"Then you must have also thought that I may not be aspiring to be in military?" He asked jokingly.

"Yes, as you seem to be lot optimistic than you look." She complimented him with a big smile and he gave her one of his own in return.

"So now it is your turn to tell what you do after school." She said pointing a finger to him to continue.

"Alright, I also hang out with Tatsuya, Shizuku, Leo and others before heading to the Butler's Café, owned by my mother's best friend, for my part time job."

"Part time job?" She interjected surprised. Many who come to First High don't usually opt to work as a part timer.

"You see, I had been living alone for last 6 years. Even though I have got my parent's money and mom's friend help me pay the bills, I thought at least I could work in her shop and help her in return for taking care of me." He said with a soft smile.

"I would like to visit it sometime. I want to see how you look in a butler's outfit and behave as such." She said with a mischievous smile.

"Dashing." He said cheekily. She just waved her head at his response.

 **-** Flashback ended and now on school grounds **-**

After heading out of the school building, Tatsuya was greeted by his friends waiting for his arrival.

"Yo Tatsuya!" Leo greeted waving his hands.

"Onii-sama, you're back." Miyuki said happily.

"Yes Miyuki, your Onii-sama is back." Tatsuya gave her a smile. Leo gave him a pure comical look of betrayal to which Erika gave him a 'serves you right' smile.

"How was the hearing Tatsuya-san?" Honoka asked worried.

Tatsuya gave her a small reassuring smile and said, "It was fine, they just wanted to take my statement as the officer involved in the arrest."

"Congratulations Tatsuya for your first major arrest." Mizuki complimented the said boy who nodded in response.

"Indeed. And I suppose this calls for celebration." Erika said cheerfully.

"In that case I know a very good place. I even have a few discount coupons with me." Tetsuya said bringing out few coupons out of his pocket.

"How exactly did you get your hands on them?" Shizuku asked surprised.

"You'll soon find out."

An half an later, the group was in front of a café cum restaurant with its name written on top of the front gate.

"Butler's Café" Tatsuya read out the name of the place.

"This is rather an interesting place, Tetsuya." Mizuki said in appreciation of the choice of the said man.

"Told you." He simply stated before opening the door for the rest of them to enter, who were greeted by a handsome man dressed as a butler.

"Welcome to the 'Butler's Café' young ladies and young masters." The man greeted in a typical butler fashion and when he looked up to see his guests, his eyes widened when he recognized a familiar figure among them.

"Evening Ryuuji-san, I've come from the front gate today." Tetsuya greeted inclining his head.

"Then I assume you'll join at the usual time?" Ryuuji asked him and he just nodded. A woman in her thirties had come out of the reception after seeing Tetsuya.

"Oh hello Tetsuya, it appears you've finally brought some friends of yours for the first time." The woman greeted them with a bright smile.

"Who is this beautiful lady here Tetsuya?" Leo asked in a low tone but was heard by the woman anyways.

"Oh! How rude of me? I am Ayuzawa Satsuki, the owner of this café and Tetsuya's boss." Satsuki introduced herself with a bow.

"Boss?" Honoka asked curiously. Others also seemed to have the same question in their minds.

"I told you before that I'm usually busy with work. I was referring to the part time job that I have here."

"Does president know about this?" Shizuku asked. She was surprised at herself for wanting to know other people's affairs.

"Yes, I told her today when we were discussing about what we do after school every day." Tetsuya replied before speaking to his late mother's best friend to divert her attention from Mayumi.

"Satsuki-san, I haven't introduced my friends yet. Let me introduce them." Satsuki just nodded. 'I'll let him have his way right now. But I'll ask him about this president later tonight.'

"The redhead is Erika and that guy with heavy built is her boyfriend Leo."

"Tetsuya!" Both Leo and Erika shouted in sync to which Satsuki giggled.

"Sorry sorry, I might have made that up. So continuing the girl with glasses is Mizuki, the one with brown hair- Honoka, the one standing beside her- Shizuku and the one standing beside her is Miyuki. The…."

"Nice to meet you, Ayuzawa-san." Miyuki greeted with an elegant bow. "And the one beside me is Onii-sama, Shiba Tatsuya." The said boy bowed as well.

"Fufufu… you're also Shiba and your name 'Tatsuya' is similar to Tetsuya's."

Satsuki chuckled at the similarities of their names. The gang just shook their heads. They were past that long time ago.

"Alright then, since you all have come for the first time, you each get a drink for free and get a 10% discount on your overall bill."

"Ayuzawa-san it's too much and besides we already have discount coupons." Erika said showing out the coupons.

"Oh keep them. You can use them some other time." Satsuki waved her hand to leave no room for question and then left for the reception. Ryuuji led them to their table.

Once they settled down and got their drinks and all, the group cheered Tatsuya for his first major arrest. Erika asked him a question, unknown to them, bothered Mari and Mayumi as well.

"How did you cancelled out Kirihara's Magic?"

"Yes Tatsuya-san, I was there with you and it seemed to me like cast jamming." Honoka said wondering. "I didn't mean it in a wrong way. I actually found it cool the way you knocked them down."

"Without Antinite, how did managed to do so Tatsuya?" Leo asked.

'He couldn't have used the shield charm.' Tetsuya had a very calculative look in his eyes.

"It was a theoretical use of using 2 CADs."

"2 CADs? But wouldn't they interfere with one another?" Shizuku asked bewildered.

"That's exactly how they came handy in disrupting the magic."

"I get it now." Tetsuya intervened Tatsuya's explanation. "You must have casted the other's magic sequence in one CAD and the counter sequence in the other one. The interference from those spells must have caused a disrupting Psion wave for that magic sequence. Am I correct?"

Tatsuya nodded in shocked. He knew that his friend was smart but he didn't expected him to be this good. 'He was able to tell the secret of my specific cast jamming in this much short. I can't let him have a single clue that may reveal our connection to our aunt, Yotsuba Maya.'

Miyuki could tell from her brother's face that revealing his magic's secret nonchalantly was no less problematic for them. Any suspicious behavior might lead him to deduce their identities.

"Well you could make a fortune for that sequence." Mizuki gave her suggestion. She was still in awe of Tatsuya's creativity.

"I may be. But I have no intention of doing so. It is still an imperfect technique."

"To use this sequence one must be able to read the sequence while they are being casted which only Onii-sama can do so." Miyuki said with pride.

"But still what you did is exceptional and brilliant Tatsuya-san." Honoka said trying her best that the depth of her words reach him.

"Thanks Honoka. I never thought of it as such." Tatsuya said with a soft smile. Miyuki didn't like that someone else other than herself was able to make her Onii-sama finally appreciate his own achievement.

'She is able to reach him with her feelings. I wonder if his emotionless state has some story.' Tetsuya thought.

 **[** The next day **]**

 **-** Class 1-A **-**

'He tells me not to worry, but he was attacked by a member of Blanche.' Miyuki was worried about her Onii-sama.

"Miyuki is everything alright?" Tetsuya asks studying her face.

"I am just worried. Onii-sama was attacked by… a course 1 student deliberately from behind." Miyuki almost manage to keep the thing about a Blanche a secret.

'She paused for a brief time. She is lying. Then who could have attacked Tatsuya. One possibility that comes to mind is ruled out as it was an obvious lie. I wonder.' Tetsuya thought. "It seems Tatsuya did made a name for himself." He joked sarcastically.

"Apparently, he is being called as the mysterious first year who defeated a bunch of club students using magic without it." Shizuku added on.

"Anyways, is he okay?" Honoka ignored the twos comment and asked worriedly.

"You know he can't be taken down so easily." Miyuki said proudly. "But I get where you're getting at." This was a fact she didn't liked very much.

 **-** Evening in student council room **-**

A knock on the SC's door announced the presence of Tatsuya and Mari. After Tatsuya removed his jacket to sit down, Azusa spotted his custom Silver Horn CADs in the holsters Tatsuya wore on his Torso. He noticed her eyeing the devices, so he allowed her to examine it thoroughly.

"Silver-sama" She said in awe as she nearly rubbed her face on Tatsuya's CAD.

"Tatsuya-kun, how did you get one of the Silver Series CADs? I hear they are quite difficult to get hold of." Mayumi's voice seemed innocent enough, but Tetsuya couldn't help but find her suspicious.

"Ah, that. I'm a beta tester, so I'm able to get them at a discount."

"Shiba-kun, did you get to meet Taurus Silver in person. What kind of person is he?" Azusa's face was glowing from anticipation and she was inches away from Tatsuya.

'I can't straight away tell her that I am Taurus Silver myself or that I am the son of FLT's owner.' He thought before speaking, "I'm not that well connected FLT to know something like that. FLT keeps most of his of its corporate secrets hidden away."

"A-chan, don't go thinking about using mental interference magic to get information out of Tatsuya-kun. You know it's illegal." Mayumi said with a teasing smile. Rest of the members chuckled softly at that.

Soon Azusa realized she hadn't done her schoolwork because she pestered Tatsuya for so long, Mayumi agreed to help her.

"So what is your project A-chan?"

"It's one of the three great puzzles of weight systematic magic – Generalized Flying Type Magic." Azusa said searching for the same on internet.

"Ah, yes. Flying magic hasn't been made a reality yet." Tetsuya was having a hard time to suppress his laughter.

"You sound like you know how to fly." Suzune asked suspiciously. It piqued Mayumi's interest. 'He told me that he can do magic that we've never seen before. Could he…'

"Well, who knows?" he said trying to sound innocent. Mayumi looked at him raising an eyebrow to ask along the lines of 'Is it what you meant before?'

He just gave a smile to confess. Then she pointed a finger to him with curious look in her eyes to request him to demonstrate it to her. He simply mouthed 'Later'. She just nodded to say 'It's a promise'. He winked at her.

"Ahem…" Mari coughed to break their non verbal conversation. The rest of them had a knowing smile on their faces.

"So Rin-chan, what are your thoughts on this?" She asked her friend who was quite interested in Magic engineering. Not long after, Tatsuya joined the conversation to clear up Azusa's confusion about why Generalized Flying Type magic hadn't been made a reality.

"Thanks everyone. Now I can take it from here." Azusa said bowing her head. Every one settled on the table and then Mari lobbed a bomb on Tatsuya.

"Tatsuya, is it true that you verbally harassed the second year, Mibu Sayaka?"

"Since you are a refined young lady, I don't think you should use vulgar phrases like 'Harassed'."

"Thanks! You're the only one who treats me like a refined young lady, Tatsuya."

"Is that right?" Tatsuya's tone was somewhat skeptical. "Not treating his own girlfriend as a lady… apparently, your boyfriend is not much of a gentleman." Tatsuya was trying to provoke Mari and it worked.

"That's not true! Nao is…" She said as she stood up in defense of Naotsugu. "Why aren't you saying anything?"

"Should I make some kind of comment?" Tatsuya's sarcastic remark sealed Mari's fate. Rest of them tried to hide their laughter, but failed.

"Anyways, so is it true that you verbally harassed Mibu of the Kendo team?"

"That's not true in the slightest." Mibu was regarded as a very beautiful girl by the student body. Even he had to admit she was good looking, so he complimented her.

"Then what did happen?" Mari asked curiously.

"Mibu-Senpai wished for me to join the Kendo club and asked me to assist her in changing the plight of course 2 students. I wasn't interested in helping with either, so I declined."

"How exactly she intends to do so." Mayumi asked.

"That's the problem. She and her compatriots don't appear to know exactly how they wanted the school to change. It was strange though… Something seemed odd about Mibu-Senpai. She seemed quite obsessive about her goal but gave no thought in how to attain it. Her gaze grew very intense and angry when discussing it, to the point where she almost forgot I was present for a moment. They seemed like the symptoms of those manipulated by magic." Everyone was shocked by Tatsuya's speculation.

Mari became very serious. "Are you suggesting someone is brainwashing course 2 students taking advantage of the animosity between them and course 1 students?"

"I can't say that those symptoms constitute as proof alone. I would suggest that there are organizations that would employ such tactics. Perhaps, one such as the anti-magic International Political organization, Blanche?" Mari and Mayumi were stunned again while Tetsuya had a calculative look in his eyes.

'He seems to emphasize on this Blanche specifically. Maybe he was attacked by its member before whom Miyuki seemed to lie about. The school could be in danger. I'll have to warn Mayumi later.' Tetsuya thought to himself.

After school, everyone in the room was preparing to leave.

"Tetsu-kun, you ready?"

"I'm fine with now, Mayumi."

"You two are going somewhere?" Mari asked them perplexed. The rest were also looking at them.

"So Tetsuya, you won't be coming along today as you will be on a date with the president?" Tatsuya teased his friend.

"No, he's accompanying me to fulfill his promise he made to me." Mayumi answered on Tetsuya's behalf.

"She's completely right." Tetsuya nodded agreeing with Mayumi.

"Very well then, wish you both have a nice time." Suzune teased her fellow compatriots. Mari, Tatsuya and Azusa stiffed their laughter.

"Thank you Rin-san." This was Mayumi's turn to stiff a laugh whereas the rest of them had defeated look in their eyes.

"Okay then, let's go Tetsu-kun." Mayumi took the said guy's arm and dragged him out of the room. He waved his hand to the rest while being dragged by their president. After they were at a good distance from the room, Mayumi let go of him.

"Alright Tetsu-kun, lead the way now." Mayumi gestured with her hand for him to continue.

"Do you know any place without surveillance?" She nodded.

"Then follow me." They both walked side by side until they reached an abandoned narrow street.

"Here you go." She said showing him the place.

"Alright, now I want you to promise me that whatever you see today won't come out in public." He asked her seriously.

"I thought it went without saying." She said with a bright smile.

"Good." A funny smile came on his face and then he continued, "You might want to have a tissue at your side."

"Why?" She asked freaked out and obviously didn't get any answer.

"Your hand?" He asked holding out his hand to her. She did as he asked and the next moment she couldn't straight away make out what happened as it happened so quickly. She almost had a vomiting sensation but it never came to that. Before she could collect herself, his voice distracted her attention.

"Very good, I actually vomited after my first time." She wiggled her eyebrows at his remark.

"What just…" Her eyes widened as she noticed her surroundings. They were no longer in the abandoned narrow street of Tokyo. They were surrounded with mountains covered with forest and a lake in the center. "We teleported?"

"Yes, this is the perfect place to show you flying magic as this place is not under surveillance."

"You could teleport as well and that too without a CAD. What is this place anyways?" She asked surprised.

"It's an ancient magic. Its speed is actually faster than the modern magic unlike other forms of ancient magic. I learnt this from the professor. And this is the place where he used to teach me. I honestly don't know where this is. We could be in a different country altogether."

"Really?"

"Really." They both broke into laughter. "I have one question. Do you want to just see me fly or you want to fly with me?" He asked raising an eyebrow.

"Now if I have a chance, then why not?"

"I wished you would choose this." Tetsuya said before taking out a wooden stick from his pocket. He swung and pointed it at a broken branch near them. The branch got converted into a broom.

"Transfiguration. Truly, magic that I have never seen before. Say what the name of your professor is?" She asks absolutely bewildered.

"John Hunter. Though, you won't find any information about him. He tends to keep himself and his magic a secret. I think he is afraid of something or someone. Therefore, he told me not to reveal this to just anyone, only to those I trust." He said with a small smile.

"And I will make sure that I do not betray your trust."

"Glad to hear that." He said and then gave another swing with his stick to the broom he just created. He grabbed the broom and sat on it. He gestured Mayumi to sit behind him. She eagerly complied.

"Hold on tight." She held him from behind and they took off in the air. She takes a look of her surrounding; she could see the forests, mountains, and the place from where they took off, group of pigeons flying beside them.

"This is so beautiful. And the wind is so soothing." She said in awe, feeling the wind brushing past her.

"Glad to hear it. Now, let's head towards the lake." He said changing the direction of the broom towards the lake. Now they were flying inches above the lake.

"Whoa!" She exclaimed letting her arms free to feel the wind since Tetsuya was flying in a straight line. She held him again when he started moving up. After a minute or two, they landed back where they took off. They both got down of the broom. Her face carried a bright smile filled with joy and content.

"I can see you enjoyed your very first ride." He said smiling himself.

"Understatement. It was so great that I don't even have words for it. I never imagined that flying could be so wonderful. You got to teach me few of your skills."

"I will but after I make sure everything is fine." His tone went serious around the end.

"What do you mean?" She asks, now serious as well.

"In the morning Miyuki told us that Tatsuya was attacked by a course 1 student. Though, it seemed to me like she was lying. Then in the afternoon, Tatsuya specifically emphasized about that anti magic organization…." He had trouble remembering the name of the organization.

"Blanche."

"Yes, exactly. I think he was attacked by one of its member. And if our school's students are being recruited by them, I believe that our school may be in danger. It's just a hunch though." He looked at her for her opinion.

"Very well, I'm glad you told me Tetsu-kun. I will surely warn Mari to stay on guard first thing tomorrow." She said taking in the warning. "So what do you suppose we do now?"

"Want to see me as a butler?" He said with a cheeky smile.

"I would love to, but not today. I'll ask Mari and Suzune tomorrow if they could come day after tomorrow. I'll even get my father's permission to eat dinner outside with my friends in that way." She said thinking out ways to convince her father.

"In that case, I'll get my uniform dry cleaned tomorrow." She just waved her head at the comment.

'It would definitely be interesting to see him behave as a gentleman.' She chuckled imagining so.


	5. Course 2 Students

**[** Class 3-A **]**

"Good morning Mari and Rin-chan."

"Morning Mayumi." They greeted back.

"So how was your date Mayumi?" Mari asks teasingly in whispering tone. Suzune also had a teasing smile accompanying her.

"I told you before it wasn't a date." She says embarrassed "He was just fulfilling his promise."

"When did you two made that promise anyway? You never told us before yesterday that you had plans." Mari asked suspiciously.

'Don't tell me it was during the time yesterday when you two got lost into your own world.' Suzune thought to herself.

"Um…" 'How should I say that we made that promise silently in front of everyone and make sure no suspicion about Tetsu-kun arises?' Mayumi gave a thought but was unable to get an answer. "Anyways, Are you two free tomorrow evening?" So she decided to change the subject.

Mari and Suzune looked at each other inferring from Mayumi's attempt to change the topic that their assumption is most likely correct. So they decided to let her get away with it. "Yes, we are." They replied.

"Excellent. I was wondering if you two would like to go out and have dinner with me. What do you say?" Mayumi said thoughtfully wording out each word.

"No problem." Mari agreed and then Suzune nodded after a thought.

"And Mari, this is important. Tetsu-kun has a feeling that the school could be attacked."

"What?" Mari asks her friend.

"I want you to be extra careful for suspicious behavior." Mayumi says in a serious tone.

"Alright, I'll tell the others as well." Mari didn't minded to be extra careful when it came to the safety of students. "Speaking of Tetsu-kun, how was yesterday? You didn't answer before."

"I have no words to describe. It was so magnificent. It was truly something beyond imagination." Mayumi said recalling the wonderful evening she had.

"Sounds fantastic." Mari said with a smirk. Suzune also had a knowing smile on her face. Before they both could use this opportunity to tease Mayumi, a voice suddenly began to blare over the PA system startling everyone in class 3-A.

"Attention students. We are a group which seeks to rectify the discrimination suffered by the course 2 students at First High."

"Mari, Suzune head to the broadcasting room and cut the power so that there will be no broadcasting. Take Juumonji-san with you as well." Mayumi ordered seriously and she was on the way to head out somewhere as well.

"And what about you Mayumi? The president of student council will be needed." Suzune asked.

"I will be present there soon. Till then you speak on behalf of student council." With her last order, Mayumi headed outside. Mari and Suzune headed to the broadcasting room with Juumonji as ordered.

 **-** In front of broadcasting room **-**

Tetsuya and Shizuku reached the crowd gathered in front of the broadcasting room. Juumonji Katsuto, Mari, Suzune and Tatsuya were standing with rest of the PMC members.

"What is going on? And where is Mayumi?"

"As I was telling Tatsuya, Mayumi said she will come soon and has put Suzune to speak on behalf of student council until she comes." Mari told him.

"The powers have been cut so that they can't do any more broadcasting. But they sort of had locked themselves inside."

"So what are you going to do about the situation?" Shizuku asked them.

"The methods they all have applied are seriously punishable. However, I won't mind having negotiating with them as they seemed to be bothered by the school's system." Katsuto stated in a thoughtful and serious tone.

"Student council's views are same." Suzune said agreeing with Katsuto.

"Still, I believe that they must pay for the course of action they took." Mari voiced out her opinion.

"Then, please excuse me." Tetsuya said making way towards the door.

"What are you doing Tetsuya? You can't destroy the door." Tatsuya asked his friend. Everyone was watching him closely as it was the first time they were witnessing him use magic. His practical ability is known to be unmatched even among the ten master clans. He took out his wooden stick and pointed it to the door.

"Here you go." Tetsuya said opening the door. The rest of them didn't waited to waste time in being surprised, so they lunged forward to arrest the students who had taken over the broadcasting rooms. Katsuto told them that they will get a chance for negotiations but they will have to pay for their method. Suzune and Tetsuya were still at door waiting for Mayumi.

"Your activation speed is truly magnificent. I have never seen a CAD like that before." Suzune said with curiosity.

"Oh! It is not a CAD." Tetsuya corrected her.

"Ancient magic then. Still, it was faster than the modern magic which is known for its speed." She was bewildered.

"I could have started initiating the spell before." He lied as to not raise any suspicion.

"It is hard to believe." She said in disbelief. Before their conversation can go any further, Mayumi came and gestured them to follow her inside.

"Everyone let them free." Mayumi ordered the PMC members. And they did so.

"But…" Mari was cut off quickly by Mayumi. "The school has decided to leave this matter in student council's hands." She said gathering the attention of everyone. "So, the rest of you can go back to your classes." All of PMC members and Katsuto left the room.

"Tetsu-kun, you can go back as well." She ordered softly. He gave her 'I can help' look but she wasn't fazed by that and gave him a glare. He left with a pout.

"You two never cease to amaze me." Suzune said with a small smile.

"Not now Rin-chan." Mayumi stated and went to debrief Mibu, who was their representative.

 **-** Butler's Café **-**

It is around 10:45 at night, Ryuuji and other workers have left leaving Tetsuya and Satsuki to close and wind up the café. Tetsuya was swinging his wooden stick to close the shutters, place the washed dishes in the shelves and align the chairs and tables properly for the future usage.

"John-san's spells sure are handy. I pity the world for using magic as a mere weapon. They certainly aren't aware of any other usability of magic except in dark arts." Satsuki said watching Tetsuya do his usual routine.

"Mayumi was as well surprised to see magic being used somewhere other than battle or fighting purposes." Tetsuya said finishing his work.

"You showed her? She is a member of ten master clans." She was astonished. She knew John told him to keep the magical abilities a secret and show only to trusted ones. 'He has just met this girl, and on top of that she has responsibilities as a member of ten master clans.' She thought assessing the possibility that he made a mistake.

"I know. But I can assure you that she is trustworthy." A small smile made way to his face. "She understands that wrong usage of professor's arts can be catastrophic. She also wants the world to be a better place and wishes for everyone's well being."

"You're defending her. If that's the case, I will know for myself when she comes tomorrow." She elbowed him and had a mischievous smile on her face.

"Sorry about that, the plan had to be postponed." He said remembering his time in student council and the takeover incident that happened earlier.

"Why?" She was curious and he told her everything.

 **[** Next morning **]**

On the way to school, Mayumi was greeted by Tatsuya and Miyuki waiting for her arrival.

"Good morning Tatsuya-kun and Miyuki. So what makes you wait for me?"

"President, what happened with the situation regarding Mibu-Senpai and her compatriots?" Tatsuya asked plainly. Mayumi remembered the scene that took place yesterday.

 **-** Flashback **-**

Mayumi went straight to Mibu Sayaka and said, "I want to hear all your problems. Sayaka, do speak on behalf of your companions."

"We wish to change the treatment given to course 2 students." Sayaka said firmly.

"How do you intend to do so?" Sayaka look agitated. She opened then closed her mouth again.

"We want student council to take some actions." Sayaka stated infuriated.

'Definitely signs of someone manipulated by magic. So, Tatsuya-kun was right.' Mayumi thought to herself observing Sayaka's behavior. "Very well then, I would like to hold a public forum between student council and you all after school in two days. In that way we can clear any misunderstandings between us."

"I accept."

 **-** Flashback ended **-**

"You'll find out later anyway, but we settled on having a public forum tomorrow after school. It was as you said Tatsuya-kun. They didn't have any real proposals on how to improve their situations." Mayumi told them.

"Tomorrow? Even if it leaves them with little time to prepare, won't your side face the same problem?" Miyuki spoke up.

"Well there is not much of a 'side' for us. I will be the only one from the student council debating them at the forum." She smiled at the surprise the siblings showed at her revelation.

"What about Tetsuya? He is quite smart." Miyuki asked.

"It hasn't been much time since he started attending First High. It would just give them an opportunity to corner him due to his lack of experience in school. Besides, being alone gives me the advantage of having a unified message."

Tatsuya saw the wisdom in her words. "In other words, you aren't at disadvantage when debating the merits of their proposals."

Mayumi nodded her head. "And if they truly have the better argument, we'll just have to make strides to use them to better the school. It's a win-win situation for the school in the end." The siblings genuinely appreciated her optimism and thoughtfulness towards the school.

 **[** Next day after school in school auditorium **]**

"Course 2 students are treated as inferior in every way. For starters, the budget allocation clearly favors clubs with more course 1 students. If the current student administration is truly interested in equality, they will surely seek to address this blatant favoritism."

The speaker walked away from the podium. The auditorium in which the public forum was taking place was packed with students from both courses. Mayumi didn't find the assertion to be sensible. It was easily refutable if one knew the activities of the various clubs.

After taking to the podium, she responded valiantly. She refuted their claim by giving the example of football club which has reached the nationals twice in a row and got higher budget than many magic related and other clubs due to its accomplishments. She used this opportunity to explain her vision for overcoming the antagonism between students of the two courses. Her evident desire to change things won over most of the audience of both courses, who proceeded to give her a standing ovation.

Before Mayumi could say anything else, several windows of the auditorium were broken by canisters carrying sleeping gas. Hanzo acted quickly and before they hit the floor managed to form neutralizing spheres around them.

Tatsuya, Mari and Shizuku had, along with the rest of the Morals committee, managed to apprehend the students they noticed wearing Egalite bracelets. The students appeared to expect the attack, leading them to stand out among the rest.

Meanwhile, Tetsuya used his wrist to point his wooden stick to each of the five armed men who entered the auditorium. All the 5 were petrified in an instant. PMC members looked at him in surprise while Mayumi tried to stiff her smile at their reactions. They all heard a bomb get blast.

"I will be heading towards Practical Skills building." Tatsuya said using his elemental sight.

"I'll accompany you Onii-sama." Miyuki followed her brother.

"Shizuku and Suzune, tie these terrorists and Egalite students. Mayumi, Tetsuya, Juumonji and Morals committee let us head out as well to stop the chaos outside." Mari gathered everyone's attention. They all nodded and headed outside.

Once out of the auditorium, they could see some students were fighting with the terrorists. Katsuto used his phalanx to take a hoard of terrorists. Mari also took out terrorists with her impossible to dodge attack, Dojigiri. Mayumi used hale particles to take on the opponents. A bullet was shot towards her back, but was easily deflected by Tetsuya's shield charm.

"Thank you." Mayumi said without needing to know who he was due to her multiscope.

"You're welcome. It would be better…"

"…if we hold each other's back since our style is more static than constantly moving our positions." She completed his explanation. He gave her a surprised look. "I'm quite smart as well." She gave him a teasing smile all the while taking out a terrorist who was ready to fire at them. He shook his head at her remark.

"Very well then." He and Mayumi got into fighting position with their backs almost touching each other. Both of them continued their assault on the terrorists. They gave each other complimenting smiles every now and then while fighting.

'Even while fighting they have time to fool around. They remind me of me and Nao.' Mari thought watching the two take their share of terrorists as she takes her own.

'That first year is admirable. He is able to stand on par with Saegusa-san.' Katsuto thought admiring Tetsuya's abilities.

The students were able to apprehend the terrorists. The students put all of them into the auditorium and Hanzo volunteered to keep an eye on them. Mari was talking to Tatsuya on ear comms about the situation in practical building.

"I guess everything is fine now." Tetsuya said to Mayumi.

"Well, the school is certainly but we still need to ask few questions to the students involved in the attack." She told him.

"Mibu Sayaka has been apprehended by Tatsuya, Miyuki and Erika." Mari spoke to Mayumi and Katsuto. "She is being taken to the infirmary."

"Very well, we should head there as well." Mayumi gestured Tetsuya to accompany them as well.


	6. Debriefing of Sayaka

**[** First High Infirmary **]**

Having thwarted the attack on First High by Blanche in their attempt to access restricted magic research, Tetsuya, Mayumi, Mari, Katsuto, Tatsuya, Miyuki and Erika stood silently listening to Sayaka share her reasons to take part in this event.

"When I asked Watanabe-san for a practice duel last year, she plainly rejected my proposal stating that she didn't have time for a mere weed." Sayaka told clearly looking at Mari. Everyone in the room was surprised at her statement.

'Mari couldn't have said that. She is as good as Mayumi in this regard. She even offered a course 2 student a position in PMC.' Tetsuya thought what all others seemed to mimic on their faces.

Mari, who was shocked by Sayaka's accusation, regained her composure and said "No Mibu, I remember correctly that I told you that you'll be wasting your time against me as in pure sword battle I'm no match for you. You should practice with someone who could help you grow more." Others believed it to be true as it sounded exactly what Mari will say.

Sayaka believed it to be true as well seeing Mari's behavior with Tatsuya. Guilt and regret filled her, "You mean to say I got angry over a simple misunderstanding." Tears began to flow through her eyes. She grabbed the uniform of the nearest person, who happened to be Tatsuya. Miyuki was irritated that her Onii-sama did nothing to stop her.

'It is not a simple misunderstanding. The stories are a nasty contrast to each other to be one.' Tetsuya tried to assess the situation.

As Sayaka's tears stopped and she let Tatsuya free, Tatsuya spoke up "Mari-Senpai and president, I believe my earlier assessment was correct." The two in question widened their eyes.

"You mean they implanted false memories into Sayaka." Mayumi asked.

"They must have used some sort of conscious interference type magic." Tatsuya plainly replied.

Sayaka was shocked at the revelation. "W-what?" She began gritting her teeth in anger.

Katsuto had taken a contemplative expression when suddenly Tatsuya began to walk towards the door with anger etched on his face.

"Where are you going Onii-sama?" Miyuki asked.

"I intend to destroy Blanche." Katsuto looked amused at Tatsuya's declaration.

"We aren't authorizing this. I'm not letting students put their lives on the line to do the work the police should handle." Mayumi said in her president tone.

Tatsuya didn't waver and responded, "I never intended to ask for assistance from Club Management or Morals Committee. I'm going to handle this alone. That is, unless you really want the police to get involved?" Tatsuya pointed at Sayaka. Katsuto understood involving the police would have severe repercussions for the students involved, especially since it would be difficult to substantiate the claim that they had been manipulated by magic.

"But Tatsuya, how would you even find where Blanche are located? They did don't exactly leave a forwarding address and those we captured are unconscious." Mari said and Miyuki nodded in agreement. Smiling, Tatsuya walked up to the door and opened it. Behind the door was one of the school's councilors, Ono Haruka.

"I was foolish to think that I could sneak up on Yakumo-sensei's favorite student." Haruka was rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Favorite?" Katsuto and Mari asked simultaneously surprised. The boy standing in front of them was favorite student of the great combat magician, Kokonoe Yakumo. Miyuki was smiling proudly at her brother while he simply ignored the two and asked Haruka for the location on Blanche.

Once, Tatsuya got the location, Miyuki stated, "I want to go with you Onii-sama."

"Absolutely not Miyuki. I can't put you in undue danger." Tatsuya's voice was almost panicked.

"Allow me? Onii-sama you're not the boss of me. I 'will' be going with you." Miyuki said with a dark smile.

"Of course Miyuki." Tatsuya responded in a forced voice.

'He never disagrees to his sister. Or is he unable to? I can't help shake the feeling that some very dark magic was forced upon him.' Tetsuya thought worried for his friend.

"I'll be going as well then, Tatsuya." Erika said excitedly. Tatsuya didn't really wanted to waste time and knowing that Erika was quite persuasive made him let out a sigh and then nodded.

"I would go as well. It is my duty as member of the ten master clans and a student of First High. This way, you could rest assure Saegusa-san and Watanabe-san. I will personally take care of the safety of these kids." Katsuto looked over to Mayumi, who after a thoughtful look gave her approval for the mission Tatsuya took upon himself.

Tatsuya looked over to Tetsuya thinking that his friend might also want in for some action. "Tetsuya, do you want to come along?"

"Oh no, I'm not really a fan of taking part in upfront assault. But if you truly want my help, I would come. I wouldn't leave a friend in need of help."

"Well having you would certainly make the job easier. But even without you, we'll be easily able to accomplish our mission. So you don't have to come if you don't want to." Tatsuya felt touched by his friend's response. He understood that his hated violence and wanted to become a teacher so that he can teach others how to use magic in fields other than battles.

"Then you can help me and Mari here in school, Tetsu-kun." Mayumi was quite happy to have him at her side.

Mari was split in between as to what she should do. Either she could tease her friend for her cheerfulness or be annoyed by the fact that she would be stuck in between soon to be lovers according to her and her friend, Suzune. She chose to go with the first option. It was better than getting annoyed and ruining her mood once again.

"Well Mayumi, getting quite excited to spend the evening with your Tetsu-kun. Let me remind you that I will be present as well." Mari whispered with a sly grin which made Mayumi pout and give betrayal look to her.

Erika looked at the two before leaving and even though she wasn't able to hear the, she was able to connect the dots by their reaction and timing. She gave a small chuckle and looked at Tetsuya who seemed happy as well but there was something in his eyes that told her he was up to something as well but wasn't quite sure as to what it was. She left as Tatsuya called her, focusing on what was in front of her, she wasn't quite happy to hear that Leo will be accompanying them as well in the mission and started bickering with him again for really no reason at all.

In the infirmary, only Tetsuya, Mayumi, Mari and Sayaka were left. Mayumi spoke, "Now Tetsu-kun let's head outside, calm the students and take care of the terrorists we caught."

"Mayumi, could you wait a second." Mayumi and Mari complied noting the seriousness of his voice while Sayaka looked at them curiously. "Is the infirmary free of surveillance?"

"I get it. Let me check." Mayumi seemed to get what he implied used her multiscope for cameras. Mari and Sayaka were perplexed as to why did he asked such a question.

"There seems to be none in the room. Though there is one on the entrance, it doesn't show content of inside." Mayumi explained. "So what is that you're up to?" She wiggled her eyebrows.

"It has something to do with the memory of Sayaka-san." He said looking at the said girl.

"What do you mean Tetsuya-kun?" Sayaka asked. Tetsuya gave a little chuckle at the way he was addressed by a girl younger than him.

"Actually he's 17." Mari said taking away the chance of Mayumi or Tetsuya to correct the girl. Sayaka just rolled her eyes and didn't even bothered to think about it.

"Do you intent to relive what happened on the day you proposed Mari for a practice duel and what you truly thought about that?" Tetsuya asked.

"Yes I would, assuming it is possible." Sayaka said somewhat skeptical of his proposition. Mari had the same look while Mayumi was eager to see another new piece of magic that he was willing to show. She didn't felt jealousy over the fact that he was doing so since it was to help someone.

"It is most likely. Though I've not tried it in a long while, last I used with professor when he taught me. But I need you two's word that whatever happens here wouldn't get out of this room." He said pointing at Mari and Sayaka. Mayumi has walked beside Tetsuya.

"Two?" Sayaka asked looking over to Mayumi who was present as well with them.

"You should understand Sayaka, first one who would have seen Tetsu-kun's magic would be none other than..." She said pointing to Mayumi grinning mischievously. Sayaka understood the implication watching Mayumi's reaction and a small smile finally formed on her face after the incident.

"Mari, I just promised her to show when she seemed interested." Tetsuya said in defense of Mayumi.

"So that was the promise you made the other day." Mari asked realizing. "What did you showed her? Just don't tell us you could fly as well given the timing of your promise."

"That is a secret. Revealing one right now is more than enough." Tetsuya said in the tone that made Mari throw away the assumption of him flying. Mayumi laughed whole heartedly at Mari for not getting the answer even after guessing correct at first. She was once again impressed by her Tetsu-kun's ability to turn matters into his favors with his wit.

"I must say, you certainly seem amazing as the rumors." Sayaka complemented him, who gave a smile in return. Mayumi was a little irritated by the gesture, very little.

"Someone seems jealous." Mari whispered in Mayumi's ear, who blushed a little and decided to change the topic.

"So Tetsu-kun, I think we should carry out what must be done. Both of them seem to be fine with the conditions." Mayumi looked at the two in question who nodded in agreement.

"Very well." Tetsuya pointed his wooden stick in front of Sayaka, which emitted a bright red light which engulfed Sayaka and Tetsuya by extent in a flood of suppressed memories of that day. She proposed Mari to have a practice duel with her. She was able to feel the pride and joy that overwhelmed her by Mari's response. It came from the fact that a course 1 student and that too from one of the Triumvirate, the three strongest and most talented students of First High, gave so much respect to her. Then she was taken to the Blanche headquarters by her fellow kendo students where her memory was altered.

"I…" Tears came out from her eyes when she finally remembered what had truly taken place. "am sorry Watanabe-san and president. I let them take control of my mind and alter one of my happiest memories into a dreadful one."

"It's not your fault Sayaka. No one could have expected it." Mari said reassuringly, gently placing a hand on her shoulder.

"All is not lost Sayaka-san. You still have got two years of high school. You can enjoy them to the fullest and take part in Kendo competitions." Mayumi said in consoling manner.

"I have lost my beauty in swordplay I once had." Sayaka said regretfully.

"If you regret adopting more lethal style, then I say you can go back in your golden days and this time you will be much stronger than ever before." Tetsuya said with a smile.

"Thank you all. I will certainly try my best to achieve that. But I wonder what I will do now in future. After today's events and revelations, I don't want to get into military." Sayaka said.

"Well then, I have a great suggestion. I would certainly welcome a great kendo teacher at my school in the future. Would you care to fill the post?" Tetsuya asked lighting up the atmosphere.

"You want to become a teacher?" Mari asked surprised. Mayumi knew of his ambitions so wasn't surprised by that fact, but was surprised that he asked Sayaka to be one of the teachers at his school. Though, she understood his intentions and didn't let jealousy take better of her.

"I will when the time comes." Sayaka said appreciating the offer. She thought by teaching others she can offer the world people better than her. A beautiful smile crept upon her beautiful face.

"And I'll be looking forward to that day." With that said Mayumi, Tetsuya and Mari headed outside leaving Sayaka in the infirmary to rest. They came out and told the students who weren't part of PMC or student council to head back home. Police was called and the terrorists were taken away. They got the news from Katsuto that the mission was successful and they all were heading back home.

"Alright everyone, I got their report and they succeeded without any casualties or injury to say. Thank you for your hard work and you could head back as well." Mayumi said looking over the student body that was still present at the grounds. Everyone left one by one. Only three were left.

"So Mayumi and Tetsuya, I'll take my leave as well." Mari said waving her hand. They both waved back to say goodbye.

"It was nice of you to offer Sayaka-san a position at your school. I can tell she was quite happy with that." Mayumi said looking at him.

"Yes she does love Kendo a lot. And what I could tell from her memories, her fighting style is truly mesmerizing." Tetsuya said remembering one of her battle memory that he saw by accident.

"Speaking of that, what sort of magic it was that you used Tetsu-kun?"

"Well it was the art of occlumency as professor used to put it. It's a Latin word I suppose. It allows someone to get into the mind of others. He taught me as a means of defense from any mental interference magic. It was one of the few professor made sure I learned to perform in his stay. Rest he gave the names of spells and their affects to continue practice after he left."

"You ought to teach me all." She said playfully. "By the way when are you going to start doing so?"

"Whenever are you're free and ready."

"Saturdays and Sundays."

"Then do come to Butler's Café to meet me. I would very much like to fly with you once more." He said with a flirtatious smile and stared in her eyes.

"And so would I." She stared back in his eyes. They were so lost into each other that they didn't noticed Haruka-sensei coming to them.

"Ahem… You two should probably head back. It was quite an eventful day. You both must be tired. It is getting a little late now." Haruka said.

Tetsuya looked at his watch and then winced at the time, "Holy-molly! I'm going to be late today. Satsuki-san would not let me without hearing complete detail of today." He looked up to Mayumi, "It was nice talk. Meet you tomorrow then."

"Same here Tetsu-kun." She replied with a smile watching the boy leave the gates running and almost falling on the ground.

"You two get along quite well." Haruka noted.

"Ah yes, yes we do." Mayumi replied still looking in the direction her Tetsu-kun headed. 'He is a nice man. I will always make sure to never lose his trust. And maybe perhaps we could go for a coffee after training.' She thought to herself.


	7. Saturday

Mayumi opened the doors of Butler's Café and when she entered, she was greeted by her Tetsu-kun in a butler outfit.

"Welcome to the Butler's Café young lady." Tetsuya greeted very elegantly bowing his head. When he looked to see the lady in front of him, he gave a smile matching the one of the petite and beautiful lady in front of him.

"Hello Tetsu-kun." Mayumi greeted. 'He looks dashing.'

"Hello Mayumi and you look quite beautiful." He complimented looking at Mayumi, who had her hair combed nicely and wore a beautiful dress that will not become a problem during their training.

"Thanks, you look quite handsome as well in the outfit with your hair combed backwards." She complimented back. "You're busy?"

"Ah yes, though I'm sure that Satsuki-san will let me free. But it would take about 15 minutes for me to be ready."

"That's no problem. I can wait." She said waving her hand.

"Then by all means, please let me lead you to your table young lady." He said with a charming smile gesturing her to follow him to a table. She smiled at his act of butler and followed him to the table.

"Allow me." He said pulling the chair for her in a gentlemanly manner. She sat down smiling.

"What would you like to order young lady?" He asked handing her the menu.

"I know I told you that I wanted to see you act as a gentleman, Tetsu-kun. You can stop the act now." She eyed him playfully.

"Still you can order something Mayumi. It would take me about 15 minutes to be ready."

"Then I'll have iced tea." Nodding to her, he left the for the staff's room.

On reaching the room, he was met by a curious Satsuki who looked like she would not leave him without having some questions answered. She grabbed his shoulders and brought him in a more private room.

"I have to take the ice tea for the young lady." He said defensively.

"Oh! Ice tea can wait. If I'm guessing correct from my observation, that young lady seems very familiar with you." She paused to see his reaction and continued before he could say anything, "That girl is the president I've heard about. Right?"

"Well… yes she is Mayumi and I wanted to ask you if I could leave an hour early today."

"Well that's new, you asking for a leave even if it's for an hour. Obviously you can, given your attendance and the fact that it's currently not the rush hour."

"Thank you."

"Halt, but I've a right, being your guardian of sort, to know if you're finally going on a date." She said with a teasing smile.

"It's not a date actually. It's like a study session of sort, just with magic." He said trying to phrase it in words that do not raise suspicion.

"You better not be teaching her John-san's spells. You showing it to her and the other two is already a big enough risk." She said in a concerned tone.

"You will know she can be trusted if you had spent time with her."

An idea popped into her head. "Then very well, I can give her the iced tea and have a little chat with her while I'm there. You can go and get changed in the mean time."

"Just don't eat her up." He received a glare for his comment and quickly went to change back. After watching him leave, she also decided to head out and meet the girl who has seemed to taken a place in her little son-like boy's heart.

"Here's your iced tea, Saegusa-san." Satsuki said serving the iced tea to Mayumi, who looked up hearing a female voice call her by her family name.

"Thank you." Mayumi said looking up the woman who has come to serve in Tetsuya's stead.

"Tetsuya has gone to change. He'll be back in about 15 minutes. Though I'm not pleased at all that he agreed to teach you John-san's spell let alone the fact that he showed you."

'She doesn't like me at all. She must be his mother's best friend he talked about.' Mayumi thought before speaking, "I understand that you're worried about Tetsu-kun. But believe me I would not let him come into trouble. Even my responsibilities as a member of the ten master clans will not force me to leak out any information. I believe in Tetsu-kun's view that first we need the world to look at magic as something other than a weapon. Only then these spells make better implications in the world."

"Wow! I must say Tetsuya was right. You do seem different than the most magicians out there. As you know we citizens don't really have a great image of magicians, but then again I know that all are not alike like Tetsuya and John-san. You seem to be like them. My worries have sufficiently subsided for now." Satsuki breathed a sigh of relief and patted Mayumi on head.

"I'm glad to hear that. If you were so worried then I guess you must be Tetsu-kun's mother's friend."

"That's actually a nice nickname." Satsuki gave a small laugh noticing her way of addressing Tetsuya. "And yes I'm Misaki's friend, Ayuzawa Satsuki, and Tetsuya is almost like my own son. I still feel guilty for not being able to help him from getting into the hands of that nasty demon. But I'm glad that John-san came and saved him before it was too late."

"Demon?" Mayumi asked completely bewildered.

"He didn't told you about that." Satsuki said surprised since Mayumi seemed to know what happened to his parents. "But then again it is really weird and scary. I am sorry I will not tell you and you must forget that I said anything as it doesn't matter now anyway." Satsuki waved her hand.

"Okay, I'll try." Was all Mayumi could manage seeing the nervous expression on Satsuki's face.

"It was nice talking to you." Satsuki said trying to lighten up the atmosphere.

"Same here Satsuki-san." Mayumi gave her a bright smile in return.

"I suggest you should hang out after your study session." Satsuki suggested.

"I was thinking about it as well. I'll try." Mayumi said happily. Then Tetsuya came in dressed in more or less normal clothes.

"I'm ready."

"Oh! About time Tetsuya. I must admit you were right about her. She is very good for you." Satsuki said smiling teasingly while Mayumi blushed a little.

"Told you." He smiled knowingly. "Then can we take our leave."

"Of course, and enjoy your time." With that they left for an abandoned street without surveillance and teleported to the mountains they visited before.

"This time you seem comfortable."

"I was prepared this time." She said looking at the surrounding. "This place always looks beautiful."

"Yes it does." He said walking up beside her and following her gaze. They stood there for a minute or two enjoying the scenery and then he decided to break the silence.

"Alright then, you would also need a stick for you since you are a beginner. Let's see which wood suits you. Let's try this one." He pointed his own wooden stick to a nearby oak tree's branch which turned into a stick of size 11 inches. He picked it up and handed to her.

"Now repeat after me, _Praebeuris Potentiam_." She did as she was told and then a feeling of warmth spread into her body. Her face relaxed and felt content.

"Good. It seems to be the right one. You're lucky to get it in the first turn." He said as a matter of fact.

"What do you mean Tetsu-kun?"

"Well you are just starting to learn this type of magic, so you would need the stick's help for a while before you are able to do without it. Though without it, it is a little tiring."

"Okay I guess I understand a bit. So what are you gonna teach me today."

"The most basic of spell to make different objects fly. You swing your stick in front of the object like this while picturing it flying." He showed her doing it at a fallen leave on the ground which started to fly in the air.

"That's it?" She asked surprised as it looked quite easy. He gave her a smug smile and gestured her to perform. She tried doing it on another leaf but was unable to do so.

"I don't understand. I did exactly as you told." She was little annoyed at herself.

"No you didn't. You didn't picture it flying."

"I did but it didn't work."

"No you must have thought it was flying rather picturing it flying in your mind." She seemed to get it. "Now try again and be clearer."

She closed her eyes picturing the leaf flying in the air, then opened her eyes and swung her stick over the leaf and succeeded in making it fly.

"Very good. It took me an hour to do it properly for the first time." He said impressed. "Now let's try some heavier objects."

She practiced with other objects and half an hour later they decided to call it a day and teleported back to that very same abandoned street from which they left.

"It was a nice day Mayumi." He said letting go of her hand after the teleportation.

"It was indeed but I still have some time free." She said suggestively.

"Then in that case would you like to have some coffee. There is a café nearby." Being a gentleman he said the lines, which boys are meant to say, with a charming smile.

"Gladly." She said with a beautiful smile. They left for the café around the corner of the main street walking closely. He opened the door for her and gestured her to enter. Like before in the Butler's Café, he pulled the chair for her and they sat down.

"You seem to have become used to it." She said playfully.

"Yeah acting like a gentleman is like everyday thing. But it doesn't mean I don't have a playful side to me." He said acting offended.

"Oh I know very well how playful you can be. I've seen it a lot of times. But seeing you behave like a gentleman was quite the surprise."

"A man got to act his best in front of his lady." He said with a playful smile. They stared in each other's eyes and were lost for a moment until a waitress distracted them by her voice.

"What would you like to drink?" They reluctantly looked away from each other and ordered their respective drinks. They waitress left them after spoiling their moment.

"Well you must be tired from your first day of learning."

"Yes, Tetsu-kun. But it was fun and the place was so beautiful." She smiled remembering the scenery. Then she remembered something, "By training, I remember that after two weeks, we will start selecting members for our school team to take part in Nine School Competition."

"What's that?" He was clearly oblivious of it.

"It's a competition between the nine magic high schools. There are various events in it with students competing in it. One student is allowed to compete in maximum of two events. Each event carries different no. of points for winning. The school which gets highest no. of points wins the overall competition. I feel honored to tell you that our school has been winning for the last two years."

Before he could respond, the waitress came again with their drinks and put them on their table. They thanked her with a forced smile as she disturbed their flow once again.

"That's nice. What events do you take part in?"

"Speed shooting and crowd ball." She said as a matter of fact.

"Oh I remember them. Well it does make sense that our school won twice in a row." He said with a smirk.

"Well yes I did win those events last two years. But others also did a fantastic job in their events like Mari, Juumonji-san, and Rin-chan." She said in a humble tone.

"Well I get what speed shooting is, but what is crowd ball?" He asked her curiously. She explained him how it was similar and different from tennis from which it seemed to have been inspired.

"I would very much like to take part in it as well. Though, you would need to teach me its basics."

"I would like to Tetsu-kun. And I hope I can have a good game with you after you are good at it."

"I will try my best to master it as soon as possible then. I am excited as well." He smiled with enthusiasm.

"Then there is another event that you must take part in. You are the best freshmen after all. Many would suggest on one particular, but I think you may not like it. It is a battle simulation game with lethal and dangerous spells forbidden alongside physical attacks named Monolith Code."

"Yes, I would appreciate if I don't have to take part in it. Do you have any other in mind?"

"Well if you wouldn't mind this one would be important for First High as a member of one of the ten master clans, the Ichijou clan, is likely to take part in this one. And you seem to be the only one among boys who could take him down. Others won't even be a match for him." She asked him seriously.

"Alright I guess it is fair enough. What is the event?" He agreed understanding the gravity of situation.

"Icicle Destruction. It is more or less a game of magical strength." She said giving a vague description.

"Sounds interesting as long as no harm is done to anyone." He said in a more questionable tone.

"Well protection for players and audience is always there."

"Then yes I will take part in this Icicle Destruction."

"Glad to hear that. It seems our chances of winning it three times in a row are quite high now." She winked at him.

"They would have been even before." He said with sly smile.

"Yes, but one shouldn't be overconfident." She said looking in his eyes.

"Very wise." He looked back into her beautiful crimson eyes and they were again lost in their own world.

From another table, two familiar girls were watching Tetsuya and Mayumi talk to themselves and getting lost staring in each other's eyes.

"They are having fun Honoka. You should learn from them."

"What do you mean Shizuku?"

"You should ask Tatsuya to spend some time with you just like during the recruitment week." Shizuku said with a sly smile.

"I didn't asked him. He was the one who did as an act of apology. And that was by chance that I met him on that day." Honoka said in a defensive manner.

"Hmmm… Well you can have more chances during the Nine School Competition. It could very well be the beginning of your romance." Shizuku said teasingly.

"Shizuku!" Honoka blushed at the comment. 'I guess she is right. I need to act out as well if I want us to be like the president and Tetsuya-san.


End file.
